


Say it if it's worth saving me

by rthecynic



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Agender Character, Egyptian Combeferre, Filipino Character, M/M, Muslim Character, Muslim Combeferre, Reporter Grantaire, Trans Female Character, Trans Musichetta, agender jehan, and there'll probably be warnings, filipino eponine, guns cw, if this gets continued the amis will be in it, plus size cosette, superhero Enjolras, superhero au, this bit is pretty tame i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 03:59:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7669261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rthecynic/pseuds/rthecynic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grantaire is a crime reporter for his local news channel, and he's always getting himself into trouble. Luckily, a certain superhero isn't willing to let anything happen to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically the beginning of a roleplay that I wrote with a friend and felt like typing up. The title is a lyric from the Nickelback song "Savin Me", because it seemed pretty appropriate.

When Grantaire blinked his eyes open, the first thing he was aware of was the complete darkness.

The next thing he was aware of was the throbbing pain in his shoulders. He tried to move, but a scratchy pain against his wrists kept his arms secured behind his back. He pulled against the restraints, but they were tight, too tight to have any give when he struggled.

He sighed.

He lay still.

He knew there was no point in fighting it. He’d only hurt himself more.

The low hum and vibration on the floor beneath him suggested that he was in some sort of vehicle. Most likely a car. A sharp kick that wouldn’t allow him to extend his leg by much confirmed to him that he was in the trunk. That would explain the darkness.

He blinked, and he felt fabric against his eyelashes. That would further explain the darkness.

He sighed again and tried to think back to how he’d gotten himself into this situation.

Of course, it was his own fault really. He was the specialist crime reporter for the local news company, and sometimes he got a little too eager to try and find a scoop. This wasn’t the first sticky situation he’d found himself in, and, considering he survived, it probably wouldn’t be the last. But no story meant no money, and he hardly had enough to keep food on the table as it was. Besides, he was good at his job, and people deserved to know about the crime that was happening in their own city.

His mistake, he supposed, was trying to expose a notorious drug cartel. He’d received a few tip-offs about where he could find them picking up a shipment. He’d managed to film the encounter, but he hadn’t been paying enough attention to notice the scout. He really should have known that they’d have someone watching out for intruders. 

He didn’t remember much after that. The scout had held him at gunpoint; made him walk out to where the rest of the cartel were removing the drug shipments from the small vessels that had brought them in. They discussed putting a bullet in his brain then and there, but decided it was too conspicuous a location. Something heavy connected with his head, and the next thing he knew, he was here.

He felt the car beginning to slow and, in a panic, he kicked out at anything within reach, hoping that something was fragile enough to break. Nothing did.

The car ground to a stop.

A few tense moments passed, where he could hear the slamming of doors and the sound of footsteps on gravel. Then a sudden light was shining in around the edges of his blindfold. Someone grabbed his arm and pulled him up and onto his feet. Something pressed into the small of his back, something cold and hard.

“Walk!” a voice growled in his ear, and he knew he had no choice but to obey. 

He walked along the gravel path, the sound of gravel eventually giving way to wood beneath his feet. He heard the slam of a door, and the light seeping in around his blindfold dimmed. A hand on his shoulder forced him to his knees, and the cold hard object was pressed against his temple. 

The sound of the gun cocking had him trembling. Was this it for him? He was going to die here, scared and alone. Would his friends know what had happened to him? Would they just think that he’d disappeared again? It wasn’t uncommon for him to vanish from their company for a few weeks when he was working on a big story, or when his bad days started to haunt him again. When they eventually realised that he wasn’t coming back, would they miss him? Would they be angry that he had gone without even saying goodbye? And Enjolras…

His thoughts drifted to the blond haired man that he adored. Enjolras, who he was sure he might actually love with everything that he had, Enjolras who hardly even seemed to notice that he existed. Would he care if he never saw Grantaire again? A little voice in his head told him no, and he was inclined to believe it. Enjolras would probably be relieved.

“Any last words?” a gruff voice sounded in his ear, bringing him out of his thoughts. He turned towards the source of the voice and spat at what he assumed was the man’s feet. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of hearing him beg. He took a deep breath and braced himself, waiting for the shot to come…

It never did.

Instead, he heard screaming. He heard shots firing, but none of them hit him. The air was suddenly warm, as if the building around him was on fire. Punches were being thrown, bodies were dropping, and Grantaire relaxed.

Apollo.

Paris’ very own superhero. The defender of justice and liberty. Apollo was here, and Grantaire was safe.

The heat suddenly died down and the sounds of gunshots and fighting ceased. Gentle hands were at his face, untying the blindfold from around his eyes.

“Don’t worry M. Grantaire. You’re safe now.”

He blinked as the light hit his eyes, and smiled up at the masked man standing before him.

“Thanks to you,” he breathed, and Apollo chuckled before disappearing behind him to gently remove the restraints on his wrists.

“Why is it always you M. Grantaire?” Apollo asked, a note of amusement in his voice, but Grantaire thought he might have detected an undertone of worry.

Trying to keep the mood light, he shrugged and started to roll the tension out of his shoulders.

“What can I say? It’s the easiest way to see you.”

It always ended up like this; the casual flirting between the two. Grantaire couldn’t deny that he found the hero very attractive, but he knew that nothing could ever happen there. First of all, because Apollo almost certainly wouldn’t allow it. Secondly, because Grantaire didn’t want their flirting to progress any further. In truth, he was entirely devoted to a man who hardly noticed his existence, and he knew that he should just move on. But he couldn’t. Not even Apollo could compare to Enjolras.

When he looked back at the masked man, he was frowning.

“You need to keep yourself out of danger R!”

“It’s my job Apollo. I don’t really have much of a choice. Besides, reporting is what I’m good at, and the people deserve to know what’s out there.”

Things hung silent and tense between them for a moment before Apollo sighed and helped him up.

“Let me take you home R.” His voice was softer now, resigned.

“I’m going to the Musain,” Grantaire shrugged, “You can take me if you like, but I’m sure I’ll be absolutely fine. Don’t worry so much. I’ve always gotten out of scrapes before.” 

Apollo rolled his eyes.

“I’ll always protect you R,” he sighed, “Just… Try and be a little more careful. One time, I might not be fast enough to save you.”

Grantaire smiled.

“I trust you. But I promise that I’ll try and be more careful in the future.”

“I guess that’s all I can ask. Now, come.”

Apollo took Grantaire into his arms and then they were flying above the city. Grantaire clung to the other man. Apollo had done this before, but he never quite got used to being so high up with only arms to keep him from falling. But it wasn’t long before he was back on his feet, just around the corner from the Musain.

“I’ll see you next time.”

Grantaire turned towards Apollo at the sound of his voice, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

“How do you know there’s going to be a next time?”

“With you M. Grantaire, there’s always a next time.”

Grantaire laughed as Apollo launched back up into the sky, watching until the hero was just a speck on the horizon, then went to meet his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is more to this, but I'm not sure if it's a story anyone would be interested in, so if you want me to write more of it, please let me know! If so, I'll probably ask my roleplay partner to cowrite it with me. 
> 
> Also, if anyone has any ideas for this story, or for anything else you'd want me to write, please let me know. I'm rthecynic on tumblr, so you should come say hi :)  
> My rp partner on this story is gayfandomnerd on tumblr. Go say hi to her. She's awesome ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Grantaire entered the Musain, an easy smile on his face.

"Hey guys. Sorry I'm la-"

He trailed off as he looked around the small room. Someone important was missing.

"Where's Enjolras?"

Bossuet pulled out a chair, signalling Grantaire to come and join him and Joly at their table. As he did so, Joly answered his question.

"He called an hour or so ago, said he had some work to finish off. He should be here soon."

Grantaire sat down and took the bottle of wine that Bossuet offered him, immediately taking a large swig from it. He couldn't help but be a little disappointed. He was so used to walking into meetings late and seeing Enjolras' face falter, just for a moment, in the middle of an impassioned speech. He loved those moments. They reminded him that Enjolras was human.

But it seemed like he wouldn't get that pleasure tonight. No matter. He would still have plenty opportunity to rile the normally calm and composed leader of their little group. Sometimes he thought that he should maybe feel bad about his antics at meetings, but he just couldn't. He couldn't allow himself to let that hope enter his heart. He couldn't let Enjolras' words win him over. He couldn't let himself be intoxicated by Enjolras' smile.

He knew that the other man's intentions were noble and good, but they just weren't viable. Their little group couldn't change the world. There would always be poverty and crime and corruption; nobody could ever change that. But at least in his line of work he could let the people know what was out there. That was much more useful than making plans to rid Paris of all the evils it contained.

He'd become so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Enjolras enter the room, his eyes narrow and cold. He only noticed the other man when he straddled a chair across the table from Grantaire and caught his eyes in an intense stare.

Grantaire's blood ran cold. What could he possibly have done now? Enjolras had only just arrived, and neither of them had even said a word. 

Putting on a large grin, Grantaire focused his attention on the man across the table.

"How can I help you Monsieur?"

Enjolras pulled out his phone and held it out to Grantaire, the evening's news report on the screen, and simply demanded: "Explain."

Grantaire grimaced as he watched the picture flicker to footage he'd taken earlier that day of the drugs being unloaded from the vessels in the harbour. Then the camera was obviously dropped as a gruff voice demanded that the cameraman walk. He watched himself walk out onto the dock, a gun pressed in at the small of his back, then the butt of a gun came down on his head and he crumpled to the ground. The footage cut off there, and the voice of a woman sounded from the phone.

"We still have had no word from missing reporter Nicolas Grantaire. We have no idea as to his whereabouts or safety. If anyone has any information-"

Enjolras pulled the phone away, his gaze locking with Grantaire's again, intense and hard.

Panicking, Grantaire forced a small laugh.

"Yeah, I should probably call in and let them know I'm alright..."

"Alright?! You could have been killed!"

Everybody looked up at the sound of Enjolras' shout, and Grantaire froze, surprised by the harshness in his tone.

"I was doing my job Enjolras! And I'm fine! Look at me! I'm right here, perfectly unharmed!"

"That's not the point Grantaire! Putting yourself in danger like that is reckless and selfish! Think of someone other than yourself for once! Do you even realise how devastated your friends would be if anything had happened to you!"

Grantaire did laugh this time; a bitter and resentful sound.

"How would you know? I'd be surprised if you even noticed Enjolras. And besides, I'm doing this for the people that you're so determined to protect. You'll never get rid of criminals like this Enjolras, so I'm doing something useful and letting them see what's out there!"

The two of them kept their gazes locked for a moment, both sets of eyes blazing with anger. But it was only for a moment. Grantaire turned his head and stood up.

"You know what? It's been a bit of a tough day, so I think I'm going to call it a night. I'll see you guys later."

And without looking back, he turned and walked out of the café.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and for your support. Ideas are always appreciated. 
> 
> A question for anyone who wants to share an opinion; would you prefer me to continue in Grantaire's POV, or does anyone want to see a chapter from Enjolras' POV? 
> 
> Oh, and as I get into this a little bit more, I might use first names for them a little bit. Their full names are Gabriel Enjolras and Nicolas Grantaire.
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my partner on this work is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short snippet in Enjolras' POV, to show how his character thinks ^^
> 
> And Grantaire's in trouble again. Will he ever learn? 
> 
> Probably not tbh :P

Enjolras watched Grantaire leave and tried to turn his attention elsewhere. He had a meeting to run; he couldn't spend any more time thinking about the other man. But it seemed that he couldn't help himself.

He knew that the way he treated Grantaire wasn't great, but he didn't feel like he had much choice. He cared too much about him. It wasn't safe. Trying to keep Grantaire at arm's length was the only way to protect him, but every time he turned up with an injury or after some kidnapping attempt, all Enjolras wanted to do was pull him into his arms and keep him hidden away from anything that could possibly do him harm.

But to show affection for Grantaire was just inviting his enemies to make him a target, and Enjolras didn't think he could handle it if anything were to happen to Grantaire because of him. It was so much easier to fight and argue and let himself succumb to anger than to let himself have Grantaire so close, but be unable to have him.

He knew Grantaire was hurting, but it was the way things had to be.

That didn't help the ache in his chest though. It didn't stop the stab of guilt every time he saw the hurt flash in Grantaire's eyes, or when he saw the easy smile fade from his lips. It didn't stop the feeling of longing that consumed him every time the other man walked into a meeting, or the lonely nights that he spent wishing that his life were simple, so that he could have Grantaire beside him.

But if it kept Grantaire safe, he would endure it. He couldn't put the man he cared so much for in danger.

Grantaire found himself in enough trouble as it was. Enjolras was sure he could feel his heart break every time he almost arrived too late, or when Grantaire had been hurt before he'd been able to save him. As Apollo, Enjolras had formed an easy friendship with the other man, but he almost wished he hadn't. That friendship had been born from numerous rescues and lectures about Grantaire's safety. Recently, that casual friendship had become flirting, which itself was bordering on dangerous. At least as Apollo, it could be passed off as simply a hero who cares about the people he protects, and the gratitude of an innocent who had been saved from the jaws of death.

The greatest danger would be if anyone found out who Apollo really was. Anyone connected to Enjolras would be in great danger if that happened, and those closest to him would be the prime targets.

That's why he couldn't risk letting himself get close to Grantaire. He lost all rationality when he was involved, and he knew it was likely that he would agree to anything to keep him safe, or he would be torn apart if he lost him. 

Keeping away from Grantaire was the only option.

He just didn't know how much longer he'd be able to do so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Far from calling it a night, Grantaire found himself still walking around the streets of Paris almost two hours later. He was following the Seine now, listening to the soft sounds of the water. He'd always loved being near the water. It calmed him. Being originally from Lille, less than two hours away from the sea, his grandmama often took him to the beach at Boulogne-sur-Mer. It had become something of a safe haven for him, where he didn't need to think about his father or his brother.

Since moving to Paris, he'd taken to walking by the Seine when things got too overwhelming. It wasn't quite the same as the beach and the gentle lapping of the waves around his ankles as he played in the shallows, but it still soothed him. It reminded him of happier times.

He stopped and leaned on a railing, staring out over the water, watching the reflections of the bright lights of a city at night. He sometimes still felt so alone here. When he was with his friends, things seemed better, but a small part of him still seemed to be waiting for them to give up on him.

He'd never felt love and acceptance from anyone like he felt from Les Amis. As a child, he'd had his grandmama, and they'd loved each other dearly, but she was long since passed, and he'd felt alone in the world ever since. His father and brother were nothing to him, and he'd never met his mother, who had died whilst giving him life. Les Amis were all he had now, and he was so grateful to have shared a part of his life with them.

Yet, his heart yearned for more. His heart yearned for unconditional love and acceptance from a partner. His love for his friends was the strongest thing he'd ever felt, but he had so much more love to give. Truthfully, his heart yearned for Enjolras.

He knew he could never be good enough for the other man, but he wished that they could at least be friends. Though, everything he did seemed to sabotage any chance of that ever happening. Maybe it was easier that way. Maybe being so close and unable to have him would be even more painful than this.

And surely even negative attention was better than no attention at all.

He sighed. There was no point in dwelling on it. Things weren't going to change. He would always be admiring Enjolras in silence, knowing that his angel deserved better than him. He'd stay with Les Amis for as long as they would allow him; his friends meant the world to him after all, and then he'd go back to being the lonely drunkard that he'd been before he met them. 

A piercing scream suddenly caught his attention, and he was running towards it before he even had a chance to think. Someone was in trouble, and he couldn't see anyone else around. He was on his own, but he had to help.

He rounded a corner and saw a masked man trying to pull a bag away from a young woman's shoulder. The woman was clinging on tightly and screaming curses at the man, but one more sharp tug and the bag came away as the woman tumbled to the ground.

"Hey!"

Grantaire silently berated himself for calling out to the thief. Drawing attention to himself probably wasn't a good move, but he'd started now and he supposed that he may as well continue.

"Leave her alone! I'll give you one chance to drop the bag!"

The thief turned and ran, and Grantaire immediately gave chase. He followed the footsteps through narrow streets and alleyways, determined not to let the man out of his sight. He may not have believed in Enjolras' ideals; that crime could be wiped out and that society would finally live without prejudice or injustice, but he did believe in doing what one lone man like himself could do to make society a better place, even if only by a little.

He rounded one last corner and smiled. A dead end. The thief obviously didn't know Paris as well as he must have thought.

At least, that's what Grantaire thought before he found himself surrounded by similarly masked men, each of whom was armed with a knife. He raised his hands and backed up towards the wall blocking the end of the alleyway. He had no idea what to do now. How could he have been so stupid? If he'd paused to even think for a moment, he would have realised how dangerous this chase was right from the start. And now he was trapped, with nowhere to go and no means of defending himself.

The thief he'd been chasing stepped in front of him, grinning as he withdrew his own blade.

"Alright boys. Let's have some fun!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry I took a while with this one. I had a friend travel halfway across Scotland to stay with me for a few days, so I was pretty busy ^^"
> 
> I hope this chapter is alright for you guys, and I'll try not to be so long on the next one :)
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my partner on this story is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi ^^


	4. Chapter 4

The group of masked men were advancing towards him, and he knew there were too many for him to try to fight off. Grantaire lifted his arms to shield his face, hoping that there wouldn’t be too much damage. From what he could tell, these guys were petty thugs, but they didn’t seem to be murderers. At best, they’d just rough him up a little, try to scare him. Maybe he’d end up with a few nasty bruises and perhaps a few cuts, but hopefully nothing more serious than that. At worst, well, he preferred not to think about that.

A strong punch to the gut had him doubled over and gasping for air. He could hear laughter filling the air around him, then a blow to his face took him by surprise and he was sprawled on the ground. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees, every breath agony, spitting blood onto the ground. A kick to his side had him sprawling again and he didn’t bother trying to right himself this time. He didn’t see the point. All he could do was hope that this would be over soon; that the thugs would get bored of their fun and flee in anticipation of another witness.

The laughter was getting louder; ringing in Grantaire’s ears. He didn’t understand how anyone could feel such sick satisfaction in watching the pain of another living creature. He’d never understood the desire to hurt anyone or anything, yet it seemed like so much of the world disagreed with him.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped, quickly replaced by hurried whispering.

“Look up there!”

“Who is that?”

“No, it can’t be!”

“Is it really…?”

“Let’s get out of here!”

Grantaire slowly lifted his head, directing his gaze up towards the rooftops. Surely enough, he could see a figure crouched in the darkness, watching them. The figure stood, his hands lighting up with balls of flame, casting flickering shadows over his silhouette. His eyes were narrow, his face grim. Grantaire knew he was furious.

Apollo leapt from the rooftop, landing on the street with such force that it caused the concrete to crack. He stood between the thugs and freedom, leaving them as trapped as Grantaire.

“Fuck…”

The masked men stared at Apollo in wonderment for a moment before seemingly breaking out of their reverie and raising their knives.

Apollo allowed a low chuckle to escape him as one sweep of his arm disarmed them all, tossing the blades away to the side of the alley, rendering them defenceless. 

One of the thugs tried to make a run for it, but a wall of fire blocked his path. Apollo had them cornered and they knew it. They only had one option, and that was to surrender.  
Within minutes, all of the thugs sat tied up on the ground, Grantaire placing a call to the local police station to tell them where to find the group. 

After hanging up the phone, Grantaire turned to leave the scene, but Apollo’s outstretched arm blocked his path.

“Twice in one day M. Grantaire? This is a record, even for you.”

Grantaire shrugged.

“I couldn’t just do nothing. Granted, I should have actually thought about what I was doing for a moment before running headlong into what was obviously a trap, but you win some you lose some I guess.”

“This is serious R. You got hurt! How can you still be so casual about this? If I hadn’t arrived when I did-“

“Yes, Apollo, I know. Your timing is truly impeccable. I promise, I’m going straight home, where there will be no danger, unless I choke on my wine or something.”

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t seriously think I’m just letting you go home alone do you? I’m taking you, and I’m coming in to make sure you’re not seriously injured.”

Grantaire rolled his eyes. He supposed it was sweet that Apollo was looking out for him, but he’d always looked after himself from the age of 17; there was no reason he couldn’t look after himself now.

“Look, Apollo, I’m flattered, but you really don’t have to. I can look after myself.”

“I think we have plenty of evidence to dispute that today.”

Apollo wasn’t joking. His voice was low, almost dangerous. There was none of the earlier humour in his tone. Obviously this had gotten to him in some way. Grantaire supposed that it really must put a lot of strain on a person, to be responsible for the life or death of someone else. Apollo was only one man, and he’d been put in the position of being responsible for Grantaire’s life more times than he could count. So maybe he should just humour him and let him satisfy himself that Grantaire was actually fine.

“Alright, if it’ll make you feel better, you can take me home.”

Apollo managed a small smile, and Grantaire couldn’t help but smile in return.

“I’d prefer if we walked though. I don’t know if my stomach could take two flights in one day.”

Apollo laughed now and started to walk, keeping a slow pace so that it didn’t cause Grantaire too much pain.

“How are you feeling? Does it hurt much?”

“Nah, I’m doing alright. Breathing’s a bit tough, but it doesn’t hurt much. Just a dull ache. I’ve had bruised ribs before; they’ll be alright. Sure, I’ll probably have a swollen lip in the morning, but I think it’s stopped bleeding.”

Apollo frowned and stopped in his tracks. Grantaire stopped too and was surprised when Apollo’s hands suddenly came to rest gently on his aching ribs. A gentle pulse of heat flooded through him for a moment, and then it was over and Apollo was walking again.

“Better?”

Grantaire took a few deep breaths, then hurried to catch up with the other man.

“Much! It’s almost like it never happened.”

Apollo smiled softly.

“Good. I don’t really like to use my healing powers much. It’s the one thing that really drains my energy.”

“I didn’t even know you could-“

“Nobody does. I’ve only ever used it on my own minor injuries. I don’t know if I could manage much more.”

They fell into a companionable silence for the rest of the walk to Grantaire’s apartment. As they neared their destination, Grantaire noticed that Apollo did indeed look a little pale, a little less imposing. It was quite frightening to see actually. He’d never seen Apollo anything less than perfectly composed. Finding out he had a power that could render him weak enough to show a visible change with such a small amount of usage was quite disconcerting.

So when they stopped outside the apartment for Grantaire to unlock the door, he spoke before he had a chance to change his mind.

“You can rest here if you want.”

Apollo frowned.

“R, I really don’t think…”

“Take the bedroom, and I’ll sleep on the couch. You can lock the door, but I’ll respect your privacy. You have my word.”

Apollo opened his mouth to protest again, but Grantaire cut in before he had a chance.

“You don’t look good Apollo. I’ve never seen you so pale. You look… weak! And it’s my fault. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this state. Please, let me help you.”

A silence hung between them for a few moments; Apollo deep in thought. It seemed like an eternity to Grantaire before the other man lifted his head and gave a small nod.

“Alright. I’ll trust you.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Grantaire awoke the next morning, sunlight was streaming in through his kitchen window. His apartment was very open plan, the kitchen-diner opening out into the living room. He loved how bright and airy his apartment was most of the time, especially when he was painting, but now was not one of those times. In his bedroom, he always kept heavy curtains drawn over the windows so that he could sleep as late as his heart desired on his days off, without the sun disturbing him. Yet here he was, sleeping on the couch because Apollo had crashed in his bed last night.

He sat up.

Apollo.

Apollo stayed last night.

He got up from the couch, memories flooding back. He remembered being cornered by a group of thugs. He remembered the pain, and he remembered Apollo taking that away. He remembered how tired and pale Apollo had looked on the walk home.

He didn’t like that memory.

He headed for his bedroom. He had no intention of opening the door; he just wanted to know if Apollo was still there. He’d never actually thanked him for what he’d done last night.

But when he got there, he saw a piece of paper taped to the outside of the door.

_“Thanks for letting me sleep here last night. I really appreciate it. Please take it easy today and try to stay out of trouble. A” ___

__His heart sank; Apollo had left._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry guys!
> 
> Basically, I'm moving to another country in less than two weeks, and my writing partner has been moving back to uni, so life has been totally hectic on our end. This will eventually get sorted into a better rhythm, I promise.
> 
> I hope this chapter is alright for you guys ^^
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi :)


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Grantaire decided to go and apologise to Enjolras.

It wasn’t that he thought the other man was right; there was no way that he was going to give up the job that he’d worked so hard for. The job that he loved.

But he could admit that he’d probably been too harsh. Accusing Enjolras of not caring about him was mean, even for him. 

Sure, their arguments often got quite heated, but they never really got quite so personal. At least, not on Grantaire’s part.

Though, Enjolras didn’t seem to make quite so many personal insults as he used to.

Really, there had been no excuse for what he’d said, so for once he was going to be the bigger person and seek Enjolras out to apologise. He’d only been expressing concern for him after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a beautiful day outside, and the walk to the university was pleasant. 

Grantaire knew that Enjolras would be there. He always was on Saturdays. He always spent the day in the library, studying for his politic science tests.

Grantaire didn’t understand how Enjolras could spend so much time studying and still only scrape a pass sometimes.

Though, he always did pass.

It had been a long time since Grantaire had stepped foot inside the grounds of the university campus. He had studied there for a while as an art major, but he found that the study of art took all the fun out of it for him, so he’d jumped at the chance of a job in the news industry. He’d never looked back after that. Art was still a huge passion of his, even more so now that it was on his own terms.

He did miss sitting out on the grounds with his friends though. They’d had such good times there.

A sudden noise caught his attention and he looked up. Two voices arguing normally wouldn’t have bothered him, but he was sure that he recognised one of them.

He frowned.

So he wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of Enjolras’ cutting tongue it seemed.

He also wasn’t the only one who gave as good as he got.

He hurried towards the source of the voices, the two debaters falling silent as they heard someone approaching.

Enjolras gave a small smile as Grantaire rounded the corner though.

“R. Hey. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Ehm… I didn’t expect to be here to be honest. Can we talk?”

“Sure.”

Enjolras turned back to the young man he’d been arguing with.

“We can finish this another time Fortain.”

“Indeed.”

The man pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose as he turned sharply and walked away. Enjolras scowled, but managed another smile when he turned back to Grantaire.

“What was all that about? Practicing for debate team or something?”

Grantaire grinned, trying to lighten the atmosphere, but all his attempt at a joke did was darken Enjolras’ expression again.

“Pierre Fortain,” he spat the name, “He’s in my class. He doesn’t believe in democracy. He’s practically a Neo-Nazi who wants the world to go back to dictator-led societies. It’s disgusting.”

Grantaire shuddered. This was one time where he could definitely agree with Enjolras’ point of view. Much as he didn’t believe that the problems of society could be erased, he definitely knew that they couldn’t turn back.

“It is disgusting Enjolras, but he’s not going to gain much support with views like that. Besides, you’d absolutely smash him in a leadership debate, so no worries.”

Grantaire winked and Enjolras cocked his head, a puzzled frown on his face.

“You know I have no interest in a leadership position…”

“Yes, you only want to know about the political workings of the country from the inside so that you can further your cause for social justice yada yada yada. Geez Enjolras, learn to take a joke.”

Enjolras laughed nervously.

“I-I suppose I should try to be a little less uptight all the time.”

Grantaire smiled and clapped Enjolras’ shoulder.

“That’s the spirit!”

Enjolras turned to him, his smile falling back into a confused expression.

“So… What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Oh…” Grantaire rubbed his head nervously. “Ehm… I just wanted to apologise. What I said yesterday… Accusing you of not noticing or caring if anything happened to me… That was out of line, and I’m sorry. I know the news report must have freaked you out or whatever, and…”

Enjolras smiled softly.

“It’s alright R. I probably did overreact.”

He stepped a little closer, so close that Grantaire could feel his light breaths against his cheek.

“Just know that you were wrong. I do care about you. I care about you a lot. And it certainly would hurt me if anything happened to you. So please… Just be careful.”

He paused for a moment, hand twitching slightly at his side, desperate to reach up and tuck a lock of Grantaire’s dark hair behind his ear, to reach up and gently caress his cheek.

But he managed to stop himself before he could.

He couldn’t.

It was too dangerous.

But it was becoming more difficult by the day to keep away from the other man.

He dreaded the day where he wouldn’t be able to keep away any longer. 

A nervous chuckle from Grantaire caught his attention and he stepped back, suddenly realising how close they had been.

“Ehm… Ok. I’ll bear that in mind Enjolras. Be careful. Ok. Sure. I can try to do that…”

An awkward silence fell between them, Grantaire rubbing the back of his head anxiously.

“Well… Ehm… I guess you probably have studying to do and I should probably get going…”

“Y-Yeah… I suppose I really should try to catch up with my study schedule… I’m behind again…”

Grantaire laughed, easing the tension a little.

“You work too hard!”

“Says the man who takes his job so seriously that he puts his life on the line for it!”

Grantaire laughed again.

“Well, what can I say? I’m a passionate guy.”

Enjolras smiled. He loved Grantaire’s easy laugh. He loved the way that the corners of his mouth creased when he smiled. He remembered that when Grantaire had first arrived in Paris and found their group, he’d hardly smiled at all. Now it seemed that smiling came a lot easier to him, and Enjolras loved that.

He truly wanted Grantaire to be happy.

He never wanted to see that utter misery on his face ever again.

He looked at Grantaire again and spoke before he could change his mind.

“Hey, I could spare another half hour. I’m pretty hungry. Do you want to grab lunch?”

Grantaire looked confused for a moment, but then a bright smile lit up his face.

“Sure! That would be great. I’ll just…”

He was interrupted by the vibration of his phone in his pocket. He pulled it out to check the number and frowned.

“It’s work. I have to take this.”

Enjolras nodded and waited anxiously as Grantaire stepped away to take the call. All he could hear was his friend’s muffled voice, but he had a feeling that lunch was no longer a priority for the reporter.

His feeling was proved right when Grantaire returned to his side, his face serious.

“I’m really sorry Enjolras, but we’re going to have to do this another time. I’ve been called into work. There’s an armed robbery happening down at the bank. It’s a hostage situation. I need to get down there as soon as possible!”

Enjolras froze, only able to watch as Grantaire stuffed his phone back into his pocket and started to run. It was only a few moments before his senses returned to him and he called out after the other man.

“No! Grantaire, wait! It’s too dangerous!”

But Grantaire either didn’t hear him or didn’t care.

He kept on running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY guys. Basically, I moved to Spain and I haven't had any internet for the past three weeks or so. But now I finally have a wifi modem, so hopefully I should be able to update without too many problems! If people are still interested that is :P
> 
> So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. A little more chilled out than the others :)
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi ^^


	6. Chapter 6

Grantaire rushed to the bank.

He heard Enjolras calling his name, but he forced himself to ignore it. He had a job to do. He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t let Enjolras change that.

It was probably better this way anyway.

What had he been thinking; accepting an invitation to lunch with Enjolras? As if his heart wasn’t already broken enough, he just had to go and almost make it worse. Having lunch with the other man would have felt too real, no matter how casual it was supposed to be.

But when faced with the question, how could he have possibly said no?

He shook his head to try and clear it.

Work came first. He’d had to leave. There had been no other option.

And this was important. People’s lives were at stake. And Grantaire didn’t know any other way to help.

All he could do was report on the situation and warn anyone else who might end up in danger.

It only took him ten minutes to reach the bank, and his news crew was already there waiting for him.

“Quick! Is everything set up?”

“Camera’s ready to roll Nic. As soon as you’re ready, they’ll switch over to us.”

Grantaire quickly grabbed his headset and microphone and took his place in front of the camera. Nodding to the cameraman, he took a deep breath to steady himself. A steady relay of information started flowing into his ear through the headset and he turned to steal a quick look at the bank itself.

“And we’re live!”

Grantaire turned back to the camera.

“I’m here, live at the National Bank, broadcasting the terrible hostage situation that is still taking place here. Sources report that at least seven bank employees and an unknown number of customers are trapped inside, and have been since 11:40 this morning. No shots have been heard, but witnesses say that they saw at least three gunmen entering the bank moments before the situation arose. Police are currently monitoring the situation and trying to talk the gunmen into releasing the hostages. More updates as they arrive. In the meantime, this reporter suggests that you avoid the area and-“

A cry went up from the gathered crowd, causing Grantaire to stop midsentence to turn around in search of the cause of the commotion.

He smiled.

A figure soared above their heads, coming to land in the midst of the crowd mere moments later.

“Apollo!”

Grantaire ran to him, closely followed by his camera crew.

“Apollo! I’m so glad you’re here. There are people who need your help!”

Apollo nodded grimly.

“I know. I came as quickly as I could. Though, I’m glad you’re here too Monsieur Grantaire. I’d almost been expecting to find you inside. I’m glad you’re safe.”

Apollo turned away from the crowd, his cape swishing behind him.

Before Grantaire could even blink, Apollo was on the roof of the bank, and then he was gone.

The crowd watched anxiously, but no-one more so than Grantaire. Every moment seemed to stretch into an eternity. But it couldn’t have been more than a minute or two before they heard the shots.

Grantaire didn’t know how many shots were fired before a haunting silence fell over the crowd; everyone waiting to see if anyone was going to emerge from the bank unharmed.

Grantaire could feel his breath catch in his throat. Nothing was happening. It was taking too long. Something had gone horribly wrong.

“Apollo…”

The name was hardly more than a breath as it passed his lips. 

Something had happened to Apollo; the man who had saved the lives of numerous citizens of Paris over the past year.

The man who had saved Grantaire’s life more times than he could count.

And now something terrible had happened to him.

And Grantaire couldn’t think.

He pulled off his headset and threw both it and the microphone to the ground, turning and rushing into the bank before anyone could stop him. 

He froze.

Ten people were tied up on the floor of the entrance hall. Some were weeping, others were just frozen in terror. Two men had guns trained on them, whilst a third could be heard rustling around in a back room.

And there, lying in the middle of the floor, eight bullet wounds marking his chest, was Apollo.

“Apollo!”

The thought of his own safety never even crossed Grantaire’s mind as he ran to Apollo’s side and dropped to his knees.

“Please don’t be dead… Come on Apollo, you can’t be dead!”

He leaned down to shake Apollo’s shoulders and felt a gentle pulse of heat radiating from his body.

His heart immediately stopped racing.

He remembered that pulse of heat.

Apollo’s body was healing itself. 

And Grantaire’s self-preservation instinct finally kicked in.

He slowly turned to find twelve pairs of eyes all trained on him.

The eyes weren’t what bothered him.

It was the two guns.

The two gunmen were staring at him, puzzled. But a small smile started to creep onto one of their faces.

“Looks like we have another hostage Henri.”

“Certainly seems that way, huh Jacques. Claude will be pleased.”

The first gunman, Jacques, smirked.

“Oh, he definitely will be.”

Grantaire glared at Henri as he knelt by his side to bind his wrists. 

No way was he making it that easy for them.

He tore his grip away from Henri’s and delivered a swift punch to the gunman’s jaw. The blow sent Henri staggering back in a daze. Before Jacques could react, Grantaire braced his weight on his elbows and kicked the other man hard in the stomach. Jacques sank to his knees and Grantaire grinned.

His grin quickly fell away when he felt cold steel against his temple.

He’d forgotten about the third gunman.

“Thought you were really smart, didn’t you?” a voice purred in his ear, “Well, you’ve just signed your own death warrant. We hadn’t planned on killing any hostages, but I think we’ll make an exception just for you.”

Grantaire felt his breath catch. He felt as much as he heard the click as Claude cocked his gun. He closed his eyes and waited for the shot…

But when he heard it, he was very much aware that he hadn’t felt it.

He was very much aware that he was still alive.

Whipping his head around, he saw Apollo grappling with Claude for the weapon, the barrel still smoking from the recent shot.

“Get the hostages out of here!”

Grantaire blinked at the sudden command from the superhero, but scrambled to do as he’d been asked. It took him a while to release all of the hostages from their bonds, but eventually they were all free and rushing out into the fresh air, to the joyous cries of the relieved crowd.

It wasn’t until that moment that Grantaire realised that he could no longer hear the sounds of gunshots or fighting going on around him.

A hand was on his shoulder before he could even turn around.

“What the hell did you think you were doing R? You could have gotten yourself killed! In fact, you almost did!”

Grantaire slowly turned to look into the hard eyes of his hero.

“I knew something terrible had happened to you. You’ve saved my life so many times. I couldn’t just leave you in here without knowing that you’d be able to get yourself out of it.”

He gently placed a hand on Apollo’s chest.

“I thought you were dead. You’re lucky you weren’t. Some of those bullets were really close to your heart. I doubt even your abilities would be able to save you from that.”

Apollo looked down at the hand on his chest and his eyes softened.

“What you did was foolish R. You should have kept yourself safe.”

He hesitated for a moment before placing his hand over Grantaire’s.

“But you’re very brave. One of the bravest men I’ve ever met. You certainly had noble intentions. Thank you, for worrying about me…”

Before he could stop himself, Apollo found that he was leaning closer to Grantaire, their lips only inches apart. He could feel the other man’s gentle breath. Only another small move and…

He was surprised to feel Grantaire gently push him away.

“Apollo, I… I’m flattered but…”

He shook his head.

“I can’t. I don’t feel that way about you. I-I’m grateful for all that you’ve done, but my heart already belongs to someone else.”

Apollo blinked.

“T-Then there is a very lucky person out there somewhere. Are you together?”

“No. I don’t even know if he’s aware that I exist half the time…”

Grantaire shrugged.

“But that’s what love is I suppose. Giving everything to someone and not expecting anything in return. My heart belongs to him, even if he never knows it.”

He pushed himself to his feet and offered Apollo a hand.

“You mean a lot to me Apollo, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for everything you’ve done, but I can’t lie to you, and I can’t lie to myself. We’re lucky that we can even be friends, considering the circumstances we always meet in, and that friendship is all we can have. I hope you understand.”

Apollo took the hand and smiled softly.

“Of course I do. Your friendship will always be enough for me R.”

Grantaire smiled shyly and nodded.

“Good. Well… I should probably go and let the crew know that I’m ok.”

With one last wave, Grantaire turned and left the bank, Apollo watching until he disappeared through the doors.

And Apollo smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically I felt terrible for leaving it so long between updates, so I wrote up the new chapter right away ^^  
> Hope you enjoy it. My beta is sort of out of commission right now, so I'm just hoping that everything is still up to standard.
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi ^^


	7. Chapter 7

“The election is coming up soon, and we need to be prepared. Lamarque is still ahead in the polls, but not by as strong a margin as before. If Tholomyes manages to secure the mayoral position, it will ruin Paris!”

Grantaire watched from the back of the Musain as Enjolras talked. He loved just watching Enjolras talk; his passion was always so intense and he almost made Grantaire believe that he could change the world.

He sketched idly as Enjolras talked, trying to capture the fire in Enjolras’ eyes. It was impossible to get it quite right, but Grantaire was nothing if not stubborn.

Though, he knew that his sketches would never measure up to the real man standing in front of him.

As always, he was hanging onto Enjolras’ every word. It never seemed like he paid much attention during meetings, but he never missed anything. And, for once, Enjolras was talking about something that Grantaire could agree with.

The mayoral race was well underway, and Jean Maximilien Lamarque had been the clear favourite from the start. He was popular with the common people of Paris, and heavily promoted equality in his campaign.

However, the rich and elite of Paris didn’t support Lamarque’s policies of bringing people together and bridging the rich-poor divide. The General’s policies would benefit the poor much more than they would benefit them, so their support had drifted to Felix Tholomyes.

Tholomyes was an old fashioned politician; an advocate for the supremacy of rich, white males in society. None of his policies would benefit anyone that strayed from that archetype. His election into office as Mayor of Paris would surely set France back and would ruin the lives of thousands of people.

Grantaire knew that Enjolras was right when it came to this. They had to stop Tholomyes from overtaking Lamarque in the polls. They had to campaign, get the word out to as many people as possible about how much good Lamarque could do as Mayor.

And Grantaire knew it was selfish, but as he looked around at his friends he was only aware of how much they would all suffer under a government led by Tholomyes.

Combeferre, the smartest man that Grantaire knew, and the kindest too, he would be treated like a terrorist because of his Egyptian heritage. He’d been born in Paris, as had his parents and his grandparents, but they had all retained the looks of his Egyptian great-grandparents. They had fled here to escape fighting in Egypt when they were very young and the hardship had bonded the two families. All they wanted was to live a peaceful life, but they already had to put up with so many racist taunts, and under Tholomyes it would surely get worse. 

He wasn’t any better in his treatment of women. He promoted the idea of women having to know their place; being created only for the desires of men. He and his followers had the idea of a perfect girl being one who was young and pretty; blonde hair, blue eyes and a petite frame. Cosette, the prettiest girl that Grantaire had ever seen, would be treated like less of a woman because she was considered “plus size”. Grantaire didn’t understand how that could possibly make a person any less beautiful. Cosette was so confident and happy in herself and Grantaire hated that people tried to put her down for that.

Eponine, his best friend, would suffer for both. Not only was she a female, but her parents had moved to Paris from the Philippines not long before she was born. Neither of her parents could speak much French, which made them a target of Tholomyes’ followers. And Grantaire hated the way that people leered at Eponine and her younger sister, as if they were objects. Luckily, none of them were prepared for the strength that Eponine had in her small frame. She may not have looked it, but she was probably the toughest person in their group and she wouldn’t hesitate to prove that to any guy who was stupid enough to look at her or Azelma in the wrong way. 

Musichetta was probably the one that Grantaire worried about most. She’d gone through so much and was finally happy; the hormones were stable and her first operation was scheduled for a few months’ time. Grantaire dreaded to think what would happen if Tholomyes managed to get that support stopped. There was no way that Chetta would be able to afford it all on her own, and she didn’t deserve to go through any more heartache.

And Jehan, darling Jehan, they would never be seen. It was so hard to get people to recognise them as agender as it was, and they’d been so excited that Lamarque wanted to introduce more in-depth sexual education in schools. All they’d wanted was for nobody else to have to go through the same horrible confusion that they had. But the inclusive sexual education classes would never happen under Tholomyes.

Practically none of them would be allowed to get married either if Tholomyes was elected. Eponine and Cosette. Joly, Bossuet and Musichetta. Combeferre and Courfeyrac. That is to say, they wouldn’t be allowed to marry if they remained in their current relationships, but Grantaire didn’t see any of them breaking up any time soon. They were all perfect together. 

Grantaire himself wouldn’t be able to marry either, but that didn’t matter so much. He only wanted one man, and he’d given up on any hope of that a long time ago.

In fact, on the surface of it all, the only one of their group who might not suffer under Tholomyes’ leadership was Enjolras. Enjolras was the perfect ideal that Tholomyes spoke of, and yet he was still fighting. He was fighting for his friends, and for the people of Paris. He wanted them to have better lives too, instead of only looking after his own interests. Grantaire loved that about him.

A hand on his shoulder caught his attention and he looked back, blinking, slightly startled.

Joly laughed and took a seat beside his friend.

“Hey R. You look a little distracted. Everything ok?”

Grantaire shrugged.

“Everything’s fine. You know me.” He managed a small laugh. “I was just thinking about how we’ll be the most hated society in Paris if Tholomyes gets elected. All of us are something that he doesn’t agree with.”

Joly frowned.

“That’s why we need to keep fighting against him R. You’ll come to the rally, right? We need all the voices we can get.”

“You know I’m with you on this one Joly.”

He smiled and Joly clapped him on the back.

“Wonderful!” He turned. “Oh! Here comes Boss with the wine!”

Grantaire made a face.

“Joly, you know I’m trying to quit.”

“I know R, don’t worry. I told Boss to get you a lemonade.”

Grantaire smiled.

“You’re the best Jol.”

“I know.”

Grantaire gave his friend a gentle shove as Bossuet joined them at their table.

“Oh, hey R. Not playing damsel in distress tonight?” Bossuet winked and cuffed Grantaire over the head. “Seriously man, you’re going to give me premature aging problems. I can’t take this stress anymore.”

Grantaire rolled his eyes.

“You’re exaggerating L’Aigle. I’m right here, aren’t I? Totally fine. I don’t need another lecture. I think hothead over there already covered that base.” He jabbed his thumb at Enjolras as he spoke.

“Speaking of, he wants you to go with him after the meeting tonight. He wants to go over some designs for flyers for the rally or something.”

“I am always at His Majesty’s service.”

Grantaire stood and swept into a low bow as Joly and Bossuet applauded.

“Don’t let Enjolras hear you calling him that though R! He might actually kick you out.”

“Nah, he needs my comedy value to lighten up the atmosphere in here.”

Grantaire fell back into his chair and took a long drink of his lemonade.

“He knows I’ll always do the flyers if he wants me to. He should ask me himself though.”

“Consider yourself asked.”

The three friends turned around in surprise, shocked to see Enjolras standing behind them with his arms folded.

“I couldn’t help noticing your antics R and thought I should come over to see what was the matter.”

“Nothing at all Enj.” He drew out the name, clearly pronouncing it; ange. “We were just discussing how you wanted to take me on a little date tonight.”

Enjolras snorted.

“I want you to come back to my apartment, yes. I need to discuss flyer designs with you.”

“How romantic!” Grantaire got to his feet. “I am at your command Monsieur. Just let me know when you want to leave.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes and turned away from the three friends, rejoining Combeferre, Courfeyrac and Feuilly in discussing plans for the upcoming rally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost three hours later when Grantaire found himself stepping inside Enjolras’ apartment, the two of them shivering from the cold. 

“Here.” Enjolras handed Grantaire a blanket and pointed to the couch. “Sit there and try to warm up. I’ll make us some hot chocolate. That should help. Cream and marshmallows?”

Grantaire struggled to suppress a giggle.

“Who knew you were such a domestic god as well as a charming one? Cream and marshmallows would be wonderful, if you’re not in a hurry to get these designs sorted.”

Enjolras scoffed and went through to the kitchen without a word.

Grantaire huddled in the blanket and nervously picked at the hem of his shirt. He didn’t know what to do or what to say. He’d never been inside Enjolras’ apartment before, and it felt…strange, to say the least.

Not that he was complaining.

He didn’t have long to dwell on it though, as Enjolras was back within a few minutes, carrying two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, a large dollop of whipped cream on top, already starting to melt down the sides of the mugs.

Grantaire sighed happily as Enjolras handed him a mug.

“Ah, perfect. Thank you Enjolras.”

There was silence for a moment as Enjolras sat on the couch beside Grantaire, then he finally spoke.

“You can call me Gabriel you know? The rest of them do, when we’re having a conversation.”

Grantaire nodded thoughtfully.

“Gabriel… Ok… Then I insist that you call me R. Well, or Nicolas, but nobody calls me that, so…”

Enjolras almost laughed.

“I already call you R though.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Silence fell between them again as they sipped at their drinks, but as soon as Grantaire had finished his, he broke the stillness with a quiet question.

“Aren’t you cold? D-Do you want to…?” He gestured to the blanket.

Enjolras blinked, seemingly confused.

“O-Oh! Yes, of course. Thank you.”

Grantaire unrolled himself from his blanket cocoon and offered an end to Enjolras, who wrapped it around his shoulders. Grantaire was very aware of the gentle touching of their shoulders as they both tried to fit under the blanket.

“So… You haven’t been voicing your opinions a lot recently in meetings. It’s… unusual.”

Grantaire raised an eyebrow.

“Is this what this is really about? You’re concerned because I’m not arguing with you?” He laughed. “Impossible as it may be to believe, I actually agree with you on this En…” He paused and slowly corrected himself. “Gabriel. I think that we do have to stop Tholomyes. All of our friends will suffer for it if he gets elected.”

“And you as well.” Enjolras looked into Grantaire’s eyes. “I know that you’ll suffer too. You won’t be able to marry. Jehan told me how you’re madly in love with some guy, and you won’t be able to marry him if Tholomyes wins.”

Grantaire laughed harshly.

“Somehow I don’t think that matters Enj. He doesn’t feel that way about me.”

“Has he told you that?” Enjolras cocked his head. “How do you know? Jehan told me that you’re too scared to tell him.”

“Just, trust me on this one. I love him but…” Grantaire sighed and let his hand hang, chin rested against his neck. His voice had dropped to a whisper when he next spoke. “You deserve so much better than me…”

Enjolras blinked.

Grantaire froze.

It suddenly registered in his mind that he’d slipped up and he was on his feet in an instant.

“Sorry, I… I shouldn’t have come here. I’ll talk to you about the flyers at the next meeting. I-I need to go.”

“Grantaire, wait!”

Grantaire shook his head wildly and turned towards the door. As he turned, he could see a blur in the corner of his eye and when he looked at the door Enjolras was there, blocking his exit.

“Say it again.”

Grantaire looked back at the couch, then back at the door, and blinked.

“H-How did you…?”

Enjolras cocked his head.

“You were over there just a second ago!”

“You’re imagining things R. I was right next to you. Now, please, say it again.”

“I-I can’t… I-I’m sorry, I…”

Enjolras stepped closer to Grantaire, forcing him to back up until he hit the couch. His knees buckled and he fell onto the cushions with a soft “oof”.

Enjolras continued advancing and straddled Grantaire’s lap. He leaned closer and whispered in Grantaire’s ear.

“Say it again Nicolas.”

Grantaire shivered gently and managed to stammer out a coherent sentence.

“Y-You deserve so much b-better than…”

“No! The other thing!”

Grantaire looked up into Enjolras’ eyes.

“I-I said… I said I love you…”

Enjolras gently caressed Grantaire’s cheek and captured his lips in a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the massive delay again!  
> I've just had so many internet problems, and I feel awful because I said I would keep to a regular update schedule now that I'm settled.  
> Good news is, I've managed to get a few chapters written in the time that my internet has been down, so expect chapter 8 really soon!
> 
> Also, I need to ask you guys for help, because no superhero story is complete without a supervillain!  
> Suggestions for said supervillain would be greatly appreciated; names, powers, costumes. I may use more than one; depends how many ideas I get for the story as it continues :P
> 
> I hope this is worth the wait!
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd; come say hi :)


	8. Chapter 8

“So… ehm… that was… What was that exactly?”

Grantaire was still sitting on Enjolras’ couch, blinking owlishly up at the other man, fingers pressed to his lips as if he couldn’t believe that this wasn’t a dream.

Enjolras was sitting in his lap, lazily playing with his hair.

“I would have thought it was pretty obvious R. It was a kiss.”

He said it so casually, as if it should have been the most normal thing in the world.

“But why?!”

“Because I wanted to.” Enjolras cocked his head and looked at him curiously. “You wanted it too, right? You certainly were giving that impression…”

Grantaire couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Of course I wanted it! I’ve wanted it more than anything since I joined your little group! But men like you don’t want to kiss men like me!”

Enjolras frowned, though his gentle touches in Grantaire’s hair continued.

“What does that mean? Men like me?”

There was a familiar hard edge to his voice, and it calmed Grantaire’s nerves a little. This was familiar territory. This was something he could handle.

“Well, I mean, you’re… you! You’re so beautiful and eloquent and smart and perfect and I’m…”

“Don’t even finish that thought. You are all of that and more, R. I don’t ever want to hear you say that you’re not.”

“But…!”

“Am I a liar Grantaire?”

Enjolras’ voice was practically a growl and Grantaire was surprised by the conviction he heard there. He knew that Enjolras was a man of conviction, but he’d never heard it directed towards him. He’d never heard any form of belief behind the words that Enjolras spared him.

It had only ever been tension.

“N-No. I believe that you truly believe in the words that you say…”

“Then don’t argue with me on this.”

The words didn’t matter. Grantaire couldn’t have found breath to argue, not when Enjolras was leaning in and pressing kisses to the pulse point on his neck and gently tugging his hair.

He whined softly and tilted his head to give Enjolras easier access to his neck.

His gasp sounded so loud in his ears when Enjolras bit down into the soft skin that he had just been kissing moments before.

Enjolras sat back and smirked as he admired his handiwork; admired the red mark blooming across Grantaire’s tanned skin.

“That’s better.”

Whether he was talking about the mark or the silence, Grantaire would never know.

He hoped it was the former, because there was no way the silence was going to last long.

As it was, it lasted about thirty seconds whilst Grantaire tried to process what had just happened within the past five minutes. He had so many questions swirling around in his head. He didn’t even know where to start.

“Why did you change your mind?” was what he finally went with.

“It was never a case of changing my mind.” Enjolras sighed. “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time Nic. I just… I was scared…”

Grantaire frowned, confused by Enjolras’ confession.

“Scared? Of what? That I wouldn’t feel the same? Because I think it was pretty damn obvious that…”

“Nic, please!”

Enjolras looked into Grantaire’s eyes, and he saw all of the hurt and confusion that he had caused over the years. He saw what his worries had cost Grantaire, especially now that the man he loved, after years of pretending to be completely indifferent to him, if not openly despise him, had confessed to returning his feelings all along.

Guilt gnawed at him, and he felt like he owed Grantaire as much of the truth as he could give.

“It wasn’t about that. I didn’t know for sure, but I was pretty certain that you would return my feelings. I knew that you would never be mean about it anyway. But I…” He sighed again. “What I do is dangerous. You know that.”

Grantaire nodded slowly. Les Amis de l’ABC were a well-known protest group in Paris, and Enjolras’ face was often plastered all over the news, recognised as the figurehead of the rallies and trouble that the group caused.

Grantaire had even interviewed him a few times.

Being so well known automatically put them at risk. There would always be people looking to shut them down. And the rallies themselves were dangerous too. People got hurt when the police were too rough with them. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for the group of friends to be huddling in a hospital corridor, waiting for one of their own to be discharged from A&E.

And that was on a good day.

Enjolras watched him for a moment before continuing.

“I have… enemies… And I was scared that if any of them found out what you meant to me…”

Grantaire took his hand and nodded. He understood.

“But why now? Why have you decided to take the risk?”

Enjolras let his chin drop to his chest.

“Every day it became a little bit harder to stay away from you. I guess hearing you say that you loved me just broke the little resolve I had left.”

A hand cupped under his chin and then he was looking into Grantaire’s eyes, deep and blue like the ocean. He couldn’t help but notice the subtle difference between the hues of their eyes. Grantaire’s were deep and open and comforting. He could tell a story with his eyes alone.

Enjolras’ were icy and piercing; a cold and dangerous blue that kept other people shut out.

It struck him as strange that such differences could be found in a simple stare.

“Gabriel.”

His attention snapped back to Grantaire. The other man said his name reverently, like he’d never heard it said by any other person. It was as if his name was something precious.

“I understand the risks involved if we let this go any further.”

Enjolras sighed. It was better this way, if Grantaire got himself out before he got hurt. He couldn’t help the pain that clawed at his heart, but he had to respect Grantaire’s choice. His safety was more important.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Grantaire pressed a finger to his lips.

“Let me finish, please. I understand the risks, but they’re worth it. I-I still want this Gabriel, if you do.”

Every instinct screamed at him to refuse; to tell Grantaire that it was because he loved him that they could never be together. He should tell Grantaire to run and never look back; to forget about him and what they could have had.

But one selfish part of him wanted to grab on and never let go. He had a chance at happiness, and he wanted it. Oh, how he wanted it.

He never let himself be selfish.

He cupped Grantaire’s face in his hands and kissed him hard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They walked into the next meeting hand in hand.

Enjolras wasn’t sure who shouted at them, but he was pretty sure it was Courfeyrac.

“About time!”

He kept his eyes averted, trying to think of words to say. He felt Grantaire’s grip on his hand tighten. He squeezed back, trying to keep him calm.

Their friends didn’t wait; they all got up and approached the pair, clapping them on the back and offering congratulations. 

Enjolras felt dizzy. He could hardly believe that this was happening. Grantaire was his and they were holding hands and he was so happy. 

It had been a long time since he’d felt truly happy.

Of course, he loved his friends, and they brought him so much joy, but juggling a secret life took its toll. He was always keeping secrets, and that ate away at him. 

Watching Grantaire’s sadness had eaten away at him, more than he’d even realised.

He knew that the guilt was still heavy in his heart; the guilt of keeping such a huge secret from his friends. From the man he loved.

But for now, he felt so light and he loved the sensation. Laughter came easily, smiles were given freely. For a moment, he believed all the stories that spoke of love being able to change a man.

When he called the meeting to order, Grantaire sat up the front of the room, watching him with that stupid grin and those huge ocean eyes and Enjolras was falling all over again.

He tried not to watch Grantaire too much during the meeting, but he could hardly draw his eyes away.

He knew he was distracted, but this was new. He’d be able to settle back into his rhythm soon enough.

Grantaire was watching him so intently, now no longer afraid to stare at him so obviously, and it was wonderful. He could feel those eyes on him, and he wanted to be the best that he could be. He wanted Grantaire to believe; in him if not in his words.

He knew he was passionate that night. He could feel the emotions bubbling up inside him as he spoke of Lamarque and Tholomyes and LGBT+ rights. 

He looked directly into Grantaire’s eyes when he spoke of the right to love whoever you wanted.

He noticed hands under tables out of the corner of his eye. 

When he focused, he saw that all of his friends were slipping a sou to Combeferre.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the awkward moment when it turns out that your IRL best friend has been secretly reading this fic and decided not to tell you >//<  
> Yes you Axel, I'm calling you out on the internet.
> 
> So now that I'm done complaining, I decided to just put up chapter 8 now :)  
> Things are quite calm at the moment; they're finally getting a break :P
> 
> I'm still open to suggestions for supervillain names and powers. Throw some thoughts my way and I'll definitely appreciate it. This story wouldn't have gone anywhere past the first chapter if it hadn't been for the support you guys have given me, so I want to make it as good as I can for all of you.
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd; come say hi :)


	9. Chapter 9

“And so, people have had their account details stolen and have lost loads of money, and they’re all blaming this ‘Amazing Bambatois’ guy.”

Enjolras quirked an eyebrow, a small smile playing on his lips.

“So that’s really why you brought me to this carnival on our date? So that you could investigate this mind reader, or whatever he’s supposed to be.”

Grantaire took a long drink from his cup of lemonade, looking anywhere but at the other man.

“No… I brought you here because you said you’ve never been to a carnival before and I thought you’d missed out… It’s just luck that this guy happens to be performing here. And that he’s my latest assignment for work.”

He finally looked at Enjolras and flashed him a grin.

“Crook or conman? Nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

Enjolras rolled his eyes and took a bite of his cotton candy. He grimaced a little. It was a bit too sweet for his taste.

Grantaire noticed his expression and swapped his hot dog for his boyfriend’s cotton candy. Unlike Enjolras, he had a terrible sweet tooth, so the pink sugary treat didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Their joined hands swung gently as they walked, nudging against each other every so often.

Grantaire just couldn’t get used to this feeling. It was as if he was constantly living in a dream, having Enjolras so close, so loving. But the other hand was solid under his fingertips, his lips were warm against Grantaire’s when they kissed. The soft kisses over his skin in the dark left a tingling sensation in their wake, and he could most certainly feel their lovemaking for a long time afterwards.

Even in his wildest dreams, he had never imagined that having Enjolras would feel so amazing.

It had been almost a month since his confession, and he felt like he was falling more in love with the other man every day. Especially when Enjolras looked at him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

“Nicolas?”

Grantaire turned to look at Enjolras, who pointed at a nearby tent.

“Is that your guy?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

Enjolras grinned.

“Alright. I’m going to go in and see him.”

“Gabriel…”

“I’m as interested as you. You can go in after me.”

Grantaire sighed, but nodded his agreement.

Enjolras handed his jacket to Grantaire and made his way to the tent entrance, ducking under the low flap and blinking against the dim light of the candles.

“Please, take a seat.”

The voice was smooth and calming, but Enjolras didn’t like how difficult it was to see where it was coming from.

However, he followed the instruction and approached a table and chair in the centre of the tent. He took a seat in the chair and could just make out a dark hooded figure sitting across from him.

“So… You’re the Amazing Bambatois?”

“Yes.”

“Then, tell me something about me. What’s my biggest secret?”

The figure reached across the table and took Enjolras’ hand in his.

A grin flickered across his face, teeth glinting in the light of the candles.

“Why, you’re a rebellious one, aren’t you? You want to destroy the patriarchal nature of society. And resolutely against the monarchy too.”

Enjolras scoffed.

“Well, I suppose you’re right. Thank you for your time.”

He tossed some coins onto the table and showed himself out of the tent, blinking against the sunlight after the dim light of the tent.

“So?”

Grantaire was watching him curiously, head tilted slightly to one side. 

Enjolras loved when he did that. It was a common gesture when Grantaire was confused, or curious, and Enjolras found it endearing.

“Conman.”

He couldn’t keep the grin from his face any longer.

“He told me that I’m against the monarchy and the patriarchy. That’s no secret. The whole of Paris knows that about me. It certainly wouldn’t take a mind reader to figure it out.”

Grantaire chuckled, handing Enjolras his jacket along with his own.

“I should still go in and check it out.”

He ducked into the tent and took a seat, just as Enjolras had done moments before.

“Hello, reporter Nicolas Grantaire with France24 news. You’re causing quite a stir with the Parisian public, so I’d like to see what all the fuss is about.”

The man stretched an arm across the table and took Grantaire’s hand, smiling his toothy grin again.

“Interesting. You don’t know your boyfriend’s biggest secret…”

Grantaire frowned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The dark figure laughed.

“It means whatever you want it to mean. Besides, why would you trust me over your boyfriend? How do I know that you have a boyfriend? You think I’m a phony, no? Maybe I just want to mess with you. Or maybe I’m right. How can you possibly know?”

Grantaire stumbled to his feet and pressed some coins into the other man’s palm.

“Thanks for your time.”

He quickly made his way out of the tent and Enjolras, taking one look at him, dropped the jackets and ran to his side.

“Nic?”

Grantaire found himself in Enjolras’ warm embrace and everything immediately felt better.

“What happened? Is everything ok?”

“He was just trying to mess with me is all. I think you’re right. He’s just a conman and he’s trying to mess with people’s heads.”

Enjolras frowned and kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head.

“I’m fine now. Let’s forget about it and go and have fun…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enjolras whistled as he tidied his apartment. He wanted everything to be perfect when Grantaire got here.

Grantaire had promised to come around for dinner after he’d finished with the six o’clock news, and Enjolras was excited. They didn’t spend much time in his apartment, as Grantaire’s rooms were so much closer to the Musain and to the centre of Paris.

Besides, Grantaire seemed a lot more comfortable in his smaller apartment than he did in Enjolras’ large one.

He finished smoothing out the duvet on the bed and smiled fondly at the giant teddy bear that sat there; a prize that Grantaire had won for him that afternoon in some shooting game at the carnival.

His next task was to check on the food. He knew he wasn’t a great cook, but he’d really wanted to try for Grantaire. He’d supposed that soup and pasta couldn’t be too difficult, so the smell of simmering onion soup and a pot of Bolognese sauce wafted through the kitchen.

He tasted the sauce and smiled. It wasn’t too bad.

He just hoped that Grantaire liked it.

The sound of the six o’clock news report starting caught his attention and he stepped into the living room to watch it.

He’d stopped watching the news after Combeferre and Courfeyrac had told him that he couldn’t afford to break another television by throwing the remote at it, but he’d started watching again when Grantaire was reporting.

At first it was so that he could make sure Grantaire was safe.

Now he mainly just enjoyed watching him.

It was only a few moments before his boyfriend’s familiar face appeared on the screen, and he couldn’t help but smile.

How had he gotten so lucky?

_“Hello, this is Nicolas Grantaire, reporting on the Amazing Bambatois, who, it has been rumoured, has been using his mind reading trick to obtain card details and rob his clients. Unfortunately, it seems that we’ll need to continue looking for another explanation as research has seemed to show…” ___

Enjolras frowned when the screen turned to static. Something didn’t feel right, and that familiar fear was tugging at him again.

He cursed when the screen switched back to the studio, a piercing scream emitting from the device.

Someone had Grantaire held at knifepoint, the blade pressed against the soft skin of his throat.

_“Hello Apollo. I know you’re watching. If you want to see him alive again, meet me on top of the news building in half an hour. You and I need to have a little chat." ___

_“Don’t do it Apollo!” ___

Enjolras watched as Grantaire struggled against his captor, but his movements were limited by the presence of the blade that was so precariously placed against his throat.

Enjolras’ throat felt dry and he felt tears pricking at his eyes as he watched. This was what he’d always feared; that Grantaire would be used against him.

If Grantaire got hurt, he wasn’t sure that he’d ever be able to forgive himself.

He took a moment to compose himself before he went to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, another chapter done :)  
> I actually have another 2 chapters prepared, so if my internet cooperates, I should get them up on a weekly basis at worst. Depends how long I can be bothered waiting :P
> 
> I really need to fix a proper update schedule, but it's difficult with my internet being so temperamental :/
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Back to the drama we go :P
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi :)


	10. Chapter 10

“You’re wasting your time! He won’t come!”

Grantaire screamed into the empty air, whipping his head around, looking for his captor. His range of movement was limited by the tight bonds securing him to the chair that he sat upon, and he couldn’t see where the other man was.

He struggled against his bonds, as he’d been doing for the past twenty minutes, knowing it was futile but unwilling to give up.

“He’s not going to walk into your trap, so you may as well just hurry up and get this over with!”

He heard a low laugh from behind him, then a hand was in his hair and jerking his head back. He gasped in a breath, surprised by the sudden pressure on his throat.

He could hear breathing in his ear, and then a low voice whispering to him.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. He’ll be here. You’ll see.”

He slumped forward as his head was suddenly released, breathing deeply. He couldn’t help the shudder that ran through him.

Contrary to his words, he knew that Apollo was certainly noble enough to walk into a trap to protect someone else. Deep down, he knew that his arguments must sound feeble.

He still hoped that he was right though.

He didn’t want Apollo to put his life in danger for him. Not again.

And his thoughts kept drifting to Enjolras; dear Enjolras who might still be waiting for him, dinner cold on the table, thinking that Grantaire has stood him up.

Or maybe he’d been watching the news. Maybe he’d seen Grantaire taken and was helpless to do anything about it.

Would he be sad? Angry? Could he forgive Grantaire for leaving him like this? He’d always warned Grantaire about the dangers of his job, and Grantaire had brushed his concerns aside. Did he think that Grantaire had brought this upon himself?

Would he miss him?

Grantaire sighed, a single tear trailing down his cheek. What he wouldn’t give to see Enjolras one more time. He wanted to tell him that he was sorry. He wanted to tell him how much he loved him.

A soft growl from his captor caught his attention and he looked up.

“Where is he? It’s almost the deadline.”

Grantaire breathed a sigh of relief.

“I told you. He’s not…”

“I’m right here!”

Grantaire whipped his head towards the source of the voice and, sure enough, there he was. 

Apollo.

“Apollo, no! Get out of here!”

Apollo turned to him, his eyes wide and pleading, and Grantaire fell silent.

His captor, however, chuckled gleefully.

“Ah, Apollo. I knew you’d make it. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Amazing Bambatois.”

Enjolras’ eyes narrowed.

“What do you want? I heard that you were nothing more than a conman. It should be easy enough to take you down.”

Bambatois grinned.

“Why, I want your powers, but we can discuss that in a moment. Don’t be so rude Apollo. Introduce yourself.”

“You think I’m going to just announce my identity to you? You’re crazy!”

Bambatois stepped close to him and whispered in his ear.

“Oh, I already know who you are Monsieur Enjolras. I want you to introduce yourself to your boyfriend.”

Apollo took a step back, his eyes wide.

“You knew! That’s why you told me something so obvious when I came to see you. You wanted me to think that you were a conman, so that I wouldn’t realise that you knew…”

“Smart, aren’t we? Now, be a gentleman and introduce yourself.”

Apollo’s eyes flickered to Grantaire, who shook his head.

“Don’t do it Apollo.”

Suddenly, Grantaire was struggling to breathe.

“R!”

Bambatois chuckled behind him.

“The mind is a funny thing, don’t you think? So easy to manipulate; to plant ideas. Just the seed of an idea in the mind can be enough to kill a man.”

“Stop it!”

“He could breathe if he wanted to, but if his mind tells him that he can’t, well, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

“Stop it! I’ll do it! I’ll take the mask off!”

Bambatois smiled and then Grantaire was gasping.

“Apollo…”

“I’m sorry Nic…”

Apollo reached for his mask, a simple length of material around his eyes that easily came away in his hand. He took a deep breath and looked up.

Everything was silent for a moment whilst Enjolras and Grantaire stared at each other, and then;

“Gabriel…?”

The name was a whisper, hardly there at all.

It was the calm before the storm.

Grantaire started to struggle harder than he had before.

“Gabriel, you have to get out of here! Just leave me! Please, you have to…!”

The knife at his throat silenced him as Enjolras let out a strangled cry.

“Don’t hurt him! Take my life, my blood, drop by drop, in exchange for his! Anything! Just don’t hurt him!” 

“Like I said, I want your powers.”

“W-What…?”

Bambatois grinned widely.

“You see, my boss would give anything to have you out of the picture. You’re too strong to take down, so I want you to give up your powers to me. That’s my own special talent you see; to absorb the abilities of other powered people.”

Enjolras raised an eyebrow.

“And if I agree, you swear that you’ll let him go? He won’t be harmed?”

“I promise, the human won’t be hurt. Do we have a deal?” 

“Gabriel, no!”

Enjolras met Grantaire’s gaze, pained.

“I’m sorry Nic. I have to.”

He raised his eyes back up to meet Bambatois’.

“Alright. You have a deal.”

Bambatois cackled as he skipped his way to Enjolras’ side and held out his hand for the hero to shake.

“Gabriel, please!”

Grantaire’s voice cracked as he pleaded for Enjolras not to go through with it, and Enjolras swore that he could feel his heart breaking.

But he had no choice.

He couldn’t let Grantaire get hurt. Nothing was worth that.

As long as Grantaire was safe, he could handle anything.

So he took Bambatois’ hand.

He fell to his knees and cried out as he started to feel the power flowing through him and into the other man.

He felt as if his veins were on fire. His vision was swimming, and he felt like he didn’t even have enough strength to lift his head. Every breath burned in his lungs and it felt like it was never going to end.

He almost thought that he was dying.

It felt like an eternity before Bambatois dropped his hand and he was on his hands and knees, gasping for every breath.

“Gabriel!”

Cool hands were on his face and he looked up into the ocean blue eyes that he loved so much.

“Nic…”

He smiled tiredly, leaning into Grantaire’s hand.

“You’re safe now Nic… You’re safe…”

“Why did you do it Gabriel?”

He could hear the tears choking Grantaire’s throat, and it pained him.

“You know the people need Apollo. Why did you…?”

“Because I love you!” 

He looked up into Grantaire’s eyes, knowing how desperate he must sound.

“I couldn’t lose you. I can’t lose you. I love you so much Nic, and I’m so sorry that I’ve gotten you caught up in all of this. I never wanted you to get hurt, that’s why I…” He sighed. “I’m sorry Nic. I had no choice.”

“Gabriel…”

Grantaire’s calming touch was suddenly gone and a hand fisted in the material of his shirt was dragging him to his feet.

He lazily stared at Bambatois.

“I’m no threat to you. What more do you want from me?”

Bambatois grinned and held up his knife.

“Unfortunately, my boss wouldn’t be content with you just losing your powers. He wants you out of the way. Permanently.”

Enjolras closed his eyes; too tired to fight and too weak for it to be worth trying. 

He could hear Grantaire screaming his name, but he wouldn’t allow himself to look at the man he loved.

It was already going to be hard enough for Grantaire; no need to make him watch the light leave his eyes.

He took a deep breath and waited for a pain that never came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this set up to post in a week's time because I have a rare moment of working internet and I wanted to get everything ready to go, but I can't seem to do it, so have two updates :P
> 
> I hope this is ok anyway and I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> I want to add in a Christmas day chapter and a New Year's chapter, so suggestions for what you'd like to see in them are welcome. If you want them that is.
> 
> Thank you so much to anyone who is still supporting this story. I really didn't expect it to last so long. You're all amazing!
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi :)


	11. Chapter 11

Enjolras was surprised when he found himself tumbling to the ground as a force knocked into Bambatois.

He’d been expecting the pain of a blade entering his skin, and instead he was laying on the ground with nothing worse than a few scrapes. 

He blinked his eyes open and he could have sworn that his heart stopped when he saw the scene in front of him.

Grantaire and Bambatois were rolling around on the ground, fighting over the blade that Bambatois held.

Thinking back on it, it really was a terrible idea, but he couldn’t stop himself from calling out.

“Nic, no!”

The moment of hesitation that his voice caused was enough for disaster to strike.

One minute, Grantaire was staring into his eyes, and the next, he was crying out in pain as Bambatois’ blade easily cut into his side, embedded down to the hilt.

Enjolras blinked as he watched Grantaire lay on the ground, breath raspy and shallow, blood pouring from the wound.

Bambatois staggered to his feet, eyes wide and terrified.

“No… No!”

Enjolras was hardly aware of Bambatois’ movements, but he was aware of the pain that hit him, the same as before but more intense. Once again, he was on fire, his lungs were burning.

But this time it was over much more quickly, and instead of being left with exhaustion, he felt stronger than he ever had before.

He should have looked for Bambatois, but the only thing that he could think about was Grantaire.

He ran to his boyfriend’s side and dropped back to his knees.

“Nic! Nic, can you hear me?!”

“G-Gabriel…?”

A bloodied hand reached up to his cheek and Enjolras pressed his own hand against it.

“I’m here Nic.”

Grantaire managed a smile.

“You look better… S-Stronger...”

“The deal was broken Nic. I got my powers back.”

“G-Good…”

Grantaire’s eyes started to slip closed and Enjolras gripped his shoulders tightly.

“No! Stay awake Nic! Don’t you leave me! I’m going to fix this, ok?!”

Grantaire blinked, confused.

“Y-You can’t… Y-You said healing exhausts you… You can’t risk…”

“We have to try!”

Enjolras could feel the tears flowing freely, splashing in small puddles on Grantaire’s cheeks.

“I love you Nic…”

“I-I love you too… T-That’s why I can’t let you…”

Grantaire was cut off by Enjolras’ lips pressing desperately against his. He let his eyes flutter shut, only vaguely aware of the dull pain throbbing in his side as Enjolras gently pulled at the knife.

A gentle pulsing heat spread through his body, familiar and comforting. Something told him to fight against it, but it felt so nice, and it was taking the pain away.

And Enjolras was kissing him, so it was difficult to think of anything else for very long.

Everything felt warm and safe. 

The pain was gone.

He let himself drift away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enjolras gritted his teeth against the pain that coursed through him.

Grantaire had lost consciousness, but his wound seemed to be healing nicely.

But it wasn’t enough.

He had to keep going.

But it hurt so much, and he was so tired.

But this was Grantaire.

He had to do this for Grantaire.

He cried out and focused all of his energy, everything he had, on healing the wound, on pushing life back into the man bleeding out in front of him.

He fought the exhaustion and kept pushing until he felt the familiar resistance that meant that there was nothing else to heal.

He smiled tiredly and collapsed on the ground next to the man he loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grantaire was the first to wake, blinking against the cold night air and the dim light of the moon. Everything ached and his head was spinning, but a quick press of his hand to his side showed that he was no longer wounded.

He frowned.

He remembered the blade cutting into his body. He remembered the intense pain, almost like fire. He remembered his world going fuzzy.

And he remembered Enjolras.

His dear Enjolras, the man behind the mask all along. His Enjolras, who had been willing to sacrifice everything for him, simply because he loved him.

Enjolras who had cried, who had kissed him, who had…

He sat up and looked around, panic tearing at his heart.

Had something happened to Enjolras?

He’d tried to heal him, he remembered now. Enjolras had tried to heal him even though he knew that it was dangerous.

He’d exhausted himself just by mending some broken ribs before. How could he possibly have managed something like this?

His eyes were drawn to the still body lying by his side, face down on the ground, surrounded by a halo of golden hair.

“Gabriel…”

He settled his back against the door that opened out onto the rooftop and took Enjolras’ head into his lap, gently stroking his hair, looking for any signs of life on his face.

He was definitely breathing, so that was a good sign, and he looked peaceful in his unconsciousness. 

A quick scan of his surroundings confirmed that Grantaire and Enjolras were the only two people on the roof, and Grantaire was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

He was slightly concerned that Bambatois seemed to have disappeared, but that wasn’t the most important problem that they faced.

All that mattered right now was that they weren’t in any immediate danger.

Grantaire relaxed, his hand in Enjolras’ hair falling into a steady rhythm of carding through the soft curls. His eyes slipped closed and he thought of all that had happened.

How had he not seen it before?

How had he never even suspected that Enjolras could be Apollo?

Truthfully, the thought had crossed his mind a few times, but he’d always pushed it aside. After all, it had just seemed so ridiculous.

And yet, it made perfect sense. If Enjolras was so willing to fight for the people of Paris in his rallies and protests, then why not as a superhero if he had the ability?

Maybe Grantaire just hadn’t wanted to see it.

But nobody else seemed to have made the connection either.

Maybe it was because Apollo always seemed so sweet and charming when he spoke, whereas Enjolras was always angry and brash and abrasive. In terms of their public personalities, they couldn’t have been more different.

And it certainly explained the way he’d always acted towards Grantaire before they’d confessed to each other.

His arrogant attitude would have clashed with the kind and gentle Apollo who was always looking out for him, and his reluctance to get close to Grantaire must have been a fear of risks more deadly than Grantaire could ever have imagined.

And yet, he wouldn’t change a thing.

As he sat there contemplating all that had happened, he knew that he wouldn’t give up Enjolras for anything. Even now, he wanted to stand by his side, no matter the danger. He wanted to support him, to help him, to be there for him.

He still loved this great man, perhaps even more than he had before.

A soft moan stirred him from his thoughts and he looked to his lap to see Enjolras starting to stir.

“Gabriel…”

He helped Enjolras to sit up and rest his back against the wall as Grantaire himself was doing.

“Gabriel, are you ok?”

“Me? What about you?”

Enjolras quickly checked the skin where Grantaire’s wound had been and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I did it. You’re healed.”

He smiled softly and let himself relax for a moment before stiffening again.

“Where’s Bambatois?”

“I don’t know. He was gone when I woke up.”

Enjolras frowned, but didn’t say anymore on the subject. Instead, he sighed and let his voice drop to a whisper.

“I’m so sorry Nicolas. I should never have let you get mixed up in all of this. I tried so hard to stay away from you, to keep you safe, but I gave in to my desires and you got hurt. I’m so sorry…”

Grantaire shook his head.

“Stop blaming yourself. I certainly don’t blame you. I want to be with you Gabriel, no matter what the risks are, so don’t even think about telling me that it’s too dangerous, because I’ve made my decision. I love you, and I trust you, and you’ve always been there for me, even if I didn’t know it. So let me be here for you now. None of this can be blamed on anyone but that idiot Bambatois and his boss.”

Enjolras sighed.

“I can’t lose you Nicolas… People are going to use you against me if they know that they can, and I can’t bear the thought that…”

“They’re going to use this to their advantage whether we’re together or not. They’ll know that you still care for me, so at least if you let me stay by your side you can keep me safe.”

Enjolras snorted a little.

“Have you been preparing that? Searching for excuses to not get as far away from me as possible?”

“Is it working?”

“Yeah, I guess it is…”

Enjolras got to his feet and stretched, feeling a lot stronger than he had when he awoke, and held out a hand to help Grantaire to his feet.

He frowned when he got a proper look at Grantaire’s face.

“Here, you’ve got a couple of scrapes on your cheek. Let me just…”

He held his hand to the small abrasions, frowning when he couldn’t muster any energy to fix them. In fact, he couldn’t seem to feel the power bubbling within him at all, even though he felt perfectly strong and healthy enough to use it.

Switching his concentration to the fire that constantly burned in his gut, he snapped his fingers and produced the tiny flame that he had been expecting. Concentrating on the air around him, he was able to hover a few inches off the ground as he had intended.

So why couldn’t he heal a couple of scrapes?

“It’s gone…”

The words left his mouth in a whisper and he could immediately feel the truth of them.

“My healing power is gone. I pushed it too hard and I lost it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! An on time update :)
> 
> Enjoy guys, and I have all of the chapters written up to the Christmas day chapter, so we might actually have an update schedule for a few weeks ^_^
> 
> That said, I hope you enjoy this, and any suggestions are welcome.
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi :)


	12. Chapter 12

Enjolras hardly slept that night.

He paced the floor of his bedroom, illuminated only by moonlight, his eyes flickering to Grantaire every few moments.

Grantaire was sleeping peacefully, curled up in a duvet cocoon, hair splayed out in a tangled mess on the pillow beneath his head.

Enjolras couldn’t help but smile. He loved watching Grantaire sleep, when he always seemed so relaxed, so free from the problems that always seemed to burden him throughout the day. Normally he would be lying in bed beside him, stroking his hair, holding him close.

Tonight though? Tonight he was tense.

He’d tried to sleep, he really had, but every noise in the dark of the room had put him on high alert. Every movement in the shadows had made him tighten his hold on Grantaire, until the hold had been so tight that the other man had awoken and sleepily kissed his collarbone until he’d relaxed again.

In that moment, his own strength had terrified him. 

He was too on edge, and he knew that he couldn’t just lie in bed any longer.

He’d waited until Grantaire had drifted back off into a peaceful sleep before he’d gotten up.

He’d been pacing ever since.

He had no idea how long it had been.

He just knew that he didn’t want to let Grantaire out of his sight. Not tonight.

His boyfriend was safe, he knew that, but some primal protective instinct was driving him to distraction. He needed to see Grantaire right now. He needed to see the proof that he was safe.

He doubted he would have slept anyway.

He’d had no idea that powers could be lost. He still didn’t know if he had the potential to lose all his powers if he pushed them too far. He knew that he’d never really felt any strain or exhaustion from using his other abilities, but his healing factor had always been a problem.

Maybe his healing had always been limited, and he would always have run out eventually.

He just didn’t know.

But he did suddenly feel so much more vulnerable. If something like this happened again, he would have no way to protect himself or his loved ones from serious harm.

If this happened again, he wouldn’t be able to save Grantaire.

He knew Grantaire had made his decision and he’d never be able to make him change his mind. Truthfully, he didn’t really want to. He never wanted to let Grantaire out of his sight again, even if logic told him that it was an impossible task.

That didn’t stop the terror that crept through him like ice in his veins when he thought of losing his boyfriend.

A part of him believed that it would be so much safer for Grantaire to just get himself out of all of this now; to get as far away from Enjolras as possible and never look back. 

Logically, he knew that Grantaire was probably right. Everyone knew that Apollo was always there for Grantaire, and with Bambatois knowing Apollo’s secret identity, it probably wouldn’t be long before other enemies came looking for them.

It was too late now.

All he could do was protect Grantaire to the best of his ability, and hope that they both made it out of this alive.

He’d chosen this life, and now he had to deal with the consequences.

He’d never really thought of the consequences a year ago, when he’d decided to wear the costume for the first time.

He’d felt so invincible then.

Now he knew better. He knew how fragile life was.

He knew how much he could be hurt even if he could not be touched.

How naïve he was, thinking that he could play superhero without any of the heartache.

But he’d grown into the mantle now. He understood the world so much more than he had before, even if Grantaire still didn’t think so. He’d seen how dark and cruel the world could be.

He’d grown up, and now he wasn’t playing superhero. He was protecting the people that he loved so much. He was inspiring a change, and a new generation of heroes. Even if the kids who admired him didn’t have powers of their own, he wanted them to see that everyone could be a hero in their everyday lives.

The public persona that he’d adopted for his rallies and protests with Les Amis de l’ABC was still fiery and hot-headed and arrogant, and he needed to be that way. Nobody would listen to a 21 year old politics student otherwise.

Besides, he needed to be as different from Apollo as he could.

But he had started to relax a little with his protests. He had started to show a little more understanding to those who couldn’t or wouldn’t join them. He’d started to understand the intricacies of people’s lives that might lead them to be scared of a cause like his.

He’d started to understand that serious change would take time and patience.

He’d learned so much in the past year, and Apollo had been the catalyst for that. He knew that he could never regret his decisions when they had shaped him into a better person. And he knew that he could never allow himself to let the people of Paris down. They’d started to look up to him, to trust in him, and he had to stay worthy of that devotion. He knew that he would fight to his dying breath to keep them safe, as he’d promised to do.

Nobody could ask for much more than that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains and warmed Grantaire’s face. His eyelids fluttered against the brightness as his consciousness started to return to him.

He let his eyes stay closed, content to just take a moment to recognise his surroundings.

The bed was comfy and smelled of fresh linen. 

Definitely not his room then. Everything in his room always smelled like paint.

An arm was slung over his hips and he hummed softly.

Enjolras.

He rolled over and buried his face against the warm, bare chest of his boyfriend.

He wrinkled his nose.

“You smell like coffee. How long have you been up?”

Enjolras pressed a soft kiss to his temple.

“I didn’t sleep very well. I went to get coffee maybe about an hour ago. I was so tired, I couldn’t see straight and I spilled it all over my shirt.”

Grantaire snorted.

“Of course you did. But I’m not complaining.”

He nuzzled his head against Enjolras’ chest to demonstrate his point.

Enjolras chuckled and began lazily stroking his hair.

“You look like you slept well though.”

“Mhmm…”

Grantaire finally opened his eyes and managed a tired smile.

“How come you couldn’t sleep?”

Enjolras shrugged.

“Just on edge I guess. Yesterday was… difficult.”

“Yeah…” Grantaire kissed the hollow of his throat. “I know it was. Losing your healing powers like that? That must have been awful. Especially when you didn’t know it was a risk.”

“The healing powers?” Enjolras raised an eyebrow and cupped a finger under Grantaire’s chin, tilting his head up until their eyes met. “I was more concerned about how close I came to losing you.”

Grantaire’s cheeks coloured a little and his eyes darted to the side.

“Nic, I was so scared. The powers mean nothing if I don’t have you. Nothing does.”

“You can’t think that way. There are people who need you.”

“Yes, but I can’t do it alone anymore. I don’t want to do it alone.”

Grantaire smiled softly and gave Enjolras a lazy kiss.

Enjolras sighed.

“I’m sorry you had to find out that way.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to tell me in your own time.”

Enjolras cocked his head.

“You’re not mad?”

Grantaire grinned.

“Of course not. I know how the superhero gig works. Secret identities must remain secret and all that. You would have told me when you were ready.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

“Not recently.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! Another on time update :)
> 
> Things are going to be a bit calmer for the next few chapters, so I hope it's still enjoyable for you guys ^^"
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi :)


	13. Chapter 13

“So… How are you feeling about…everything?”

Grantaire looked up from towel drying his hair. 

Enjolras’ hair was still dripping wet and he had to look away or he’d never be ready in time.

It just made him think of how he’d gotten that way.

That was one of the few things that he preferred about Enjolras’ apartment; the shower was big enough for two.

“Ehm… I mean, I’m still trying to get my head around it, but I think I’ll be alright. Sure, I was terrified, but it’s not as bad as it used to be. Hazards of the job, you know?” He smiled. “Besides, I’ve come to trust in Apollo. I know he won’t let me down.”

He winked and went back to rubbing his hair with the towel. He hated how thick his curls were when he was trying to dry them. It always took so long.

Enjolras gently took the towel from his hands and started to rub his hair for him.

“You don’t have to be so brave all the time Nic…”

“Brave? Me? I’m not…”

“Of course you are! You’re so calm about all of this.”

“Maybe my mind isn’t so calm.” He laughed nervously. “To be honest, I thought I was going to die last night. It was my choice; I knew that getting him away from you would lead to him attacking me, but I had no idea that it would break the deal. I really thought I was going to die.”

Grantaire could feel his body trembling, and his eyes filled with tears. 

It was the first time he’d allowed himself to think of how close it had been, and it scared him. Sure, with the adrenaline of the moment he’d been willing to die for Enjolras and he knew that he would do it again, but now that he’d had time to process it, it was a terrifying thought.

Enjolras knelt in front of him and pulled him into his arms, gently rubbing circles into his back.

“It’s alright. You’re safe now…”

Grantaire let Enjolras hold him as he shook. Now that he’d started to allow himself to feel the fear that he’d been denying for so long, it was impossible to stop. For the past year he’d been pretending that everything was ok, treating every brush with death as if it were nothing, as if it hadn’t affected him in the slightest.

But it had, and it clearly still did even now.

It was a relief to finally let himself feel it.

He didn’t know how long they sat like that. He didn’t say anything, so Enjolras didn’t ask. Enjolras merely held him, murmuring soothing words in his ear, gently rubbing his back. And Grantaire clung to his shirt and cried.

When his sobs had quietened to small sniffles and hiccups, Enjolras finally spoke.

“Nic, I think you should talk to someone about all of this.”

“W-What…?”

“I don’t think it’s healthy for you to be bottling all of this up. And of course I’ll be here for you as much as I can, and you can always talk to me, but I can only help so much. It would be better if you spoke to someone who’s trained to deal with things like this.”

“I-I won’t tell them about you!”

Enjolras held him tighter.

“You don’t have to. But you can talk to them about what’s happened to you; all those times that you’ve been so scared but couldn’t tell anyone about it. I think it’ll help.”

Grantaire finally looked up at him.

“But what about you? Surely you’ve been scared too? Surely you’ve seen terrible things…”

“Yes, but to explain it, I’d have to admit that I’m Apollo, which I can’t do yet. So I don’t have the choice, but you do. Please, just… Think about it, ok?”

Grantaire nodded.

“I will. But if I go… W-Would you come with me? I’m too nervous to go alone…”

“Of course I will.” Enjolras kissed Grantaire’s forehead. “Whatever you need.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enjolras managed to talk Grantaire into taking a few days off from work. It wouldn’t have been good for him, he’d said. He was really stressed, and work would only make that worse. Besides, he didn’t have the world’s safest job and Enjolras really didn’t need anything else to worry about.

Grantaire had finally agreed and, a few hours later, they were snuggled up on Enjolras’ couch, watching some cheesy rom-com and eating take away pizza.

Grantaire had to admit that this was much better than work.

He took another bite of pizza, the cheese dropping off of his chin in a long string.

Enjolras laughed and wiped away a bit of sauce on Grantaire’s nose.

Grantaire couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so happy. This was just perfect, and he wished that they could stay like this forever.

He knew that on Monday they would have to go back to their lives. Enjolras would plan his next protest, and Grantaire would go back to work. He’d have to face up to the fact that he was scheduled to work on Christmas day and that he’d had to turn Enjolras down when he’d suggested that they spend the day together. Apollo would be helping people as always.

But today could be perfect, and Grantaire was going to make the most of it.

He snuggled into Enjolras’ favourite red jumper and smiled. Enjolras had given it to him when he’d started to shiver just after the pizza arrived. It was a little too big on him, as Enjolras was a few inches taller, but he didn’t care. It just made it more comfortable to cuddle up in.

“Still cold?”

Enjolras looked concerned and Grantaire couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him.

“I’m fine Gabriel. Really. Stop worrying. I just really love this jumper is all. It’s really cosy.”

Enjolras smiled, a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.

“I really like how it looks on you.”

Grantaire shivered a little. Enjolras liked seeing him wearing his clothes.

Enjolras caressed his cheek gently and planted a soft kiss to his lips.

“Hot chocolate?”

Grantaire grinned.

“You bet!”

“Let me guess; cream and marshmallows, just how you like it?”

“You know me too well.”

Enjolras winked and got to his feet.

“I’ll be right back.”

Grantaire couldn’t help but frown as he watched Enjolras leave. He was suddenly enveloped by a chill where there was no longer another body to keep him warm. The space beside him just felt so empty without Enjolras there to fill it.

But he pushed those thoughts aside.

Enjolras would be back in a few minutes after all.

He paused the movie so that Enjolras wouldn’t miss it and turned his gaze to the window. The view from Enjolras’ apartment was pretty, and he liked to look at it whilst Enjolras wasn’t in the room. He could see over the tops of all the fancy houses, and the Eiffel Tower stood proud in the distance, a mere silhouette against the sky.

He stood and walked to the window, gazing down into the streets below. There weren’t many people outside in the cold weather, but he still liked to look at whoever was walking about below.

A little flutter of white passed in front of the window and he blinked. Then there was another. And another.

He grinned.

“Gabriel! Gabriel, come see!”

Enjolras came running through from the kitchen.

“Nic? What is it?”

Grantaire turned around and smiled at him, the excitement clear in his eyes.

“Snow!”

Enjolras chuckled fondly and moved to stand at the window by Grantaire’s side, an arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders.

They watched silently as the snow flurried around outside, growing heavier and heavier until the whole sky was white. 

Suddenly the apartment felt so much cosier, knowing how cold it must be outside.

It wasn’t long before the streets were just a blanket of snow, crisp footprints left behind by hurrying pedestrians, quickly filled in again as the snow continued to fall.

Christmas lights and decorations shone in the streets and in the windows of neighbouring buildings, bright against the contrast of the dark sky and the snowy streets.

Grantaire could only describe it as beautiful.

He knew that he would draw it later, his fingers itching for a sketchpad. He didn’t want to lose this wonderful moment. He wanted it to last for eternity. And with art, he could make it happen.

“They all said it wasn’t going to arrive on time.”

He sounded a little awed as he spoke. He’d seen the weather charts as the meteorologists at the station had pored over them. Everyone had said that there was no chance that the snow was going to come before the 25th.

Enjolras smiled and kissed his head.

“Well, it looks like we might be getting a white Christmas after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still seeming pretty chill for our boys, and hopefully I'll be able to give you guys a Christmas chapter, depending on how things go, cause I'm travelling home tomorrow to spend some time with my family.
> 
> I did want to do a Christmas and a New Year's chapter though, so I'm going to try my best to get them done.
> 
> But just in case I don't manage an update, merry Christmas to all who celebrate it, and I hope you all have a great 2017!
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi :)


	14. Chapter 14

Grantaire normally didn’t mind working Christmas day. 

He’d been scheduled for it few times back in his intern days, when he was still juggling his duties at the news station and his classes at university, and he was the lowest of the subordinate positions.

He hadn’t been scheduled last year, but he’d swapped with one of the other newscasters who’d just recently become a mother for the first time and was desperate to spend time with her boyfriend and daughter.

After all, he’d cut his father and brother out of his life five years ago, when he was 17, and since then, Christmas hadn’t seemed such a big deal. Not that he had ever enjoyed Christmas when he lived with them, but he’d enjoyed a few wonderful Christmases with his grandmama in the years before her death.

But she’d died not long after he’d finally cut ties with his father, and now he had no family left to celebrate with.

It only seemed fair to let people with families have the holiday.

Of course, he had his friends, and every year they would host a large Christmas and New Year’s party at Courfeyrac’s house on New Year’s Eve, but on Christmas they all had their own families to spend time with.

He’d spent the day with the Thénardier kids a few times, dressed as Santa for Gavroche and Azelma when they were still young enough to appreciate it. But for the past few years, since Éponine and Cosette had started dating, Monsieur Valjean had insisted that they spend the day at his fancy house in the suburbs.

One year he’d gone to the orphanage with Feuilly though, and spent the day with the kids. He’d loved that year. Seeing how happy the children were when Santa had arrived to give them presents and spend the day playing with them had filled Grantaire’s heart with happiness. He hadn’t had a free Christmas since then, but he swore to himself that he would certainly go back when he could.

But this year, his heart was heavy as he left the news station and began the trek home through the thick snow and icy cold.

Enjolras had been so excited for them to spend their first Christmas together, and Grantaire had had to turn him down. Enjolras had looked entirely crushed, and Grantaire couldn’t stand it. He felt like he could still see the hurt in his boyfriend’s eyes.

He trudged home, forcing himself not to look at the happy families sitting around their tables and playing games next to the fire.

It was late now; almost 10pm, and Grantaire knew that he didn’t even feel like cooking his Christmas dinner. What was the point in cooking the turkey and the stuffing and all the accompaniments that people loved so much if he had nobody to share it with?

He sighed, looking up at his apartment building as he approached it. It looked so grey and dark and lonely. He wished that he was coming home to something more festive, but people in this neighbourhood didn’t seem to care too much about decorations.

He gave a small gasp of surprise when he saw Azelma skulking in the doorway of his building.

“Sis sent me to get you.” Azelma grunted in way of greeting. “She doesn’t want you on your own. You should come back with me.”

Grantaire smiled softly.

“I kinda want to just get some rest Azelma.”

“She’s not taking no for an answer R. You know she’ll come over and drag you there herself if she has to, so come on.”

Grantaire sighed and followed Azelma as she made her way down the street, hands shoved into her pockets to try and fight off the cold.

“It’s a long way Azelma. You didn’t walk all the way out here, did you? You must be frozen! Come inside and I’ll phone a taxi or something.”

Azelma looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I didn’t walk here! Cosette gave me a ride in her fancy car. Hurry up.”

Grantaire blinked and hurried around the corner after her. 

Sure enough, there was Cosette’s silver Porsche, looking completely out of place in the rundown streets of Grantaire’s neighbourhood.

Cosette rolled down the driver’s window and leaned her head out, smiling her dazzling smile.

“Hey R! Get in. It’s freezing out there.”

Grantaire hesitantly climbed into the backseat of the car, sighing happily as warm air filled the space around him.

“You really didn’t have to do this Cosette…”

“Don’t be silly! You can’t spend Christmas alone! You have us now R, and we’re not going to leave you on a day like this.”

He smiled softly as Azelma clambered into the passenger seat next to Cosette.

“Thanks…”

“Don’t mention it.”

Cosette flashed him another smile before she drove off.

Grantaire watched as the streets whizzed by outside the window. The grey and uninviting streets of his neighbourhood soon gave way to the bright and bustling streets of the centre of Paris. The people started to disappear as they travelled out towards the suburbs, but the decorations remained just as elaborate.

Grantaire frowned when Cosette parked the car outside Enjolras’ apartment building.

“What are we doing here?”

Azelma flashed him a wicked grin.

“I just asked you to come back with me. I never said where. You really think your boyfriend was going to accept that you weren’t going to be together on Christmas?”

“W-Why didn’t he just ask me?”

“He wanted to surprise you.” Cosette turned around in her seat and gave him a soft smile. “He said that you always spend Christmas alone, and he wanted to have a nice surprise for you. He’s been working really hard all day.”

Grantaire could feel stinging in his eyes as he fought the urge to cry.

“He didn’t have to do this. None of you did.”

“But we wanted to R, so go on in and have fun.”

Grantaire got out of the car and hurried up the stairs to Enjolras’ top floor apartment. He didn’t care that he was entirely out of breath as he hammered on the door, or that the lift pinged behind him just moments after he reached the top of the stairs.

The door opened almost immediately and Enjolras was grinning at him.

“Nic!”

He didn’t get a chance to say anything else before Grantaire wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him, trying to pour all his love and gratitude into that one moment.

Enjolras hummed happily and gripped Grantaire’s hips, hard enough to apply pressure, but not enough to hurt. The touch made Grantaire’s eyes flutter.

Then someone cleared their throat and Grantaire opened his eyes, finally noticing all of the eyes watching them.

Enjolras stepped to his side and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“E-Everyone came…?”

Grantaire looked around and, sure enough, there wasn’t a single member of Les Amis missing from Enjolras’ cramped living room.

Enjolras smiled and whispered in his ear.

“Of course they did. If we’d known before, we never would have let you spend a single Christmas alone.”

Grantaire finally stepped across the threshold of the apartment, and found himself with an armful of Jean Prouvaire. He smiled fondly and returned the hug.

“We’ve made dinner R.” Jehan grinned, their eyes shining with excitement. “You’re going to have such a great time! We all helped out with the cooking, and we’re going to play games and we have Christmas music, but no booze, because we all know you’re trying to quit so we agreed not to have any either and…”

R chuckled and hugged Jehan tighter.

“Thank you all so much. This is way too kind, and I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Don’t thank us man!” Bahorel slapped Grantaire between the shoulder blades, as the two of them often greeted each other. “Just have fun. That’s all we want.”

“I love you guys!” 

Suddenly he found himself enveloped in a huge group hug, all of his friends surrounding him. He was so happy in that moment.

He’d been wrong all along.

He did still have a family.

Les Amis were his family, and deep down he’d always known it.

This was a family that he had chosen, and that had chosen him, and he knew that they would always be there for him in a way that his father and brother never had been.

That’s what a real family was, and Grantaire knew that he was so lucky to have one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a silly little Christmas chapter :P
> 
> Merry Christmas everyone! :)


	15. Author Update

Ok, so I am an asshole.

I never intended for this to happen with this story, but it was all just one thing after another. As I told you all, I was having internet problems because I had moved to Spain for a while as part of my university degree. It was my first time living away from home, and I was completely on my own. I came back to Scotland to spend Christmas with my family and friends, and when I went back to Spain at New Year to complete my placement, I got hit with the worst bout of homesickness ever. And because I was missing home so badly, I just didn't have to motivation to keep up with this. My depression kicked in big time and writing just kinda fell by the wayside.

Saying that, my year abroad was amazing and I'm so glad I did it, and I think it's been really good for me in terms of confidence and mental state in general, so I'm doing a lot better now. And now that I'm home and feeling better and have proper working internet, I think I can get this story going again.

And that's the purpose of this author update; it's been such a long time that I didn't want to just post a chapter and assume that there's still some sort of interest for this. If anyone still wants this continued then I'm more than happy to get going again, but it would mean a lot to me to know that someone out there still cares about where the story is going. I'm also still totally up for any suggestions that anyone has about this fic, or even if someone wants to help me out a little. I tend to be a lot more motivated if I'm working on projects with someone else. I'd also like to know where people want to pick this up from. I'd intended to write a chapter about the New Year's Eve party at Courfeyrac's, but then shit happened and I missed it. So, would people want that written anyway, or would you prefer a time skip?

Sorry again for all of this guys, and it's been a pleasure to have at least provided a little bit of something that you could enjoy, even if only for a little while.

rthecynic


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grantaire has his worries about the New Year's Eve party, but luckily his friends are on hand to help.

The New Year’s Eve Party at Courfeyrac’s was always the most anticipated event of the year. All of the Amis would gather at Combeferre and Courfeyrac’s apartment, and they would bring in the New Year together. It was a night of childish party games and drunken revelry, friendship and laughter and warmth. Nobody ever missed it, and nothing could ever compare.

This year, however, Grantaire was caught somewhere between anticipation and nervousness. Anticipation of celebrating with his friends, his _family _, but nervous about the amount of alcohol that was bound to be going around. Sure, Joly and Bossuet still had a drink at the Musain when he sat with them, but only one, and that was easy enough to ignore now. He’d been sober for almost a year after all.__

__The Party would be different. It was the one time of the year that everyone let themselves go, that his friends got into a state that Grantaire would have previously called a normal Friday night. Only Combeferre and Enjolras stayed away from the alcoholic drinks that traditionally filled the kitchen. But last year, even Enjolras’ stoicism had melted away for the night and 2am had found him on the balcony in only his underwear, screaming La Marseillaise at the top of his lungs. Combeferre had sighed and carried him to bed, only for Enjolras to throw up all over the sheets. Their leader had been sick for three days afterwards and it was an unspoken rule that “The Incident” was never talked about._ _

__Grantaire spent the entire day steeling himself for The Party, looking at himself in the mirror and telling himself over and over again that he could do it. He didn’t need to drink. He could go to this party and see everyone else drinking and resist the temptation… Couldn’t he…? This was going to be his biggest challenge yet, and he knew it. But he’d been doing so well, and he couldn’t let himself lose all of that progress. His friends had been so supportive, and he’d never have come through all of this without them. He didn’t want to disappoint them._ _

__He was still repeating his mantra, pacing the living room floor, when he heard the beeping of a horn from outside. A quick glance out of his window showed Joly, Bossuet and Chetta, waiting for him to come downstairs so that they could give him a ride to Courfeyrac’s place. Grantaire cursed under his breath. He’d been so busy worrying that he’d lost track of time and he wasn’t even ready. Grabbing his phone and calling Joly on speed dial, he left the phone on speaker as he ran to the bathroom and began shedding his clothes._ _

__“Hey Jol. You guys should come on up. The door’s unlocked. I… Well, I lost track of time and I still need to shower and change.”_ _

__He half expected a lecture about being more aware of himself. Sometimes he lost himself and entire days escaped him, and he knew that this worried Joly. His mental state had improved dramatically over the years, but he still had difficult times and Joly was always first at his door._ _

__But maybe his friends knew him better than he’d realised. Joly’s voice was bright on the end of the line, trying to keep Grantaire’s spirits up, an unspoken understanding between the two of them._ _

__“Ah, don’t worry about it R, I can imagine you had a lot on your mind. We’ll come up and wait for you. Don’t rush yourself!”_ _

__The line went dead and Grantaire breathed a soft sigh of relief, dropping the phone by the side of the sink as he stepped into the shower. The water was hot, almost too hot, just the right side of painful, but he liked it that way. It distracted him from the thoughts swirling around in his head. He could focus on the warm rivulets of water running down his back, soothing all his aches and washing away his worries. He loved long showers, where he could just pass a few moments without a care, safe from whatever the world wanted to throw at him next, cocooned in a bubble of water where nothing could touch him._ _

__Today, he didn’t have that luxury. Joly had told him not to rush, but he didn’t want to keep his friends waiting longer than he had to. He already felt guilty enough that he hadn’t been ready for them, and the last thing he needed was more doubt filling his mind. So, he didn’t take the time that he usually did to relax and clear his head. A quick wash and he was out again, towel wrapped around his waist as he ducked into the bedroom, his three friends whooping and hollering and whistling for the few moments that he appeared in the living room. He couldn’t help but smile at that. Truly, Joly, Bossuet and Musichetta were the greatest friends he could ever ask for._ _

__It only took a few minutes after that for him to change. He didn’t own much in terms of party clothes, but Enjolras had given him a nice button-down shirt for Christmas and this was his first chance to wear it. His hair was wild and unruly from rubbing it dry with the towel, but he didn’t have time to tame it. Not that he ever really did. Sometimes he could swear that his hair had a mind of its own. But he at least looked semi-presentable when he stepped out of the bedroom, in his new shirt and his black skinny jeans. Chetta even whistled when she saw him, making him laugh._ _

__“You ready to go R?” she asked, and Grantaire gave a nervous nod of his head, prompting her to speak again; “Hey, what’s wrong?”_ _

__Grantaire opened his mouth to say “Nothing!”, but the word kept catching in his throat. He couldn’t make himself lie to them. So he found himself spilling all of his worries to them; his fears of being unable to resist joining in drinking with everyone else, of disappointing everyone who had helped him and believed in him for so long. He couldn’t have “just one”, he knew that. He wasn’t strong enough. As soon as he had the taste again, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop. Was he ready to be surrounded by it? Of course, he knew that he’d have to be strong enough eventually, or he’d never be able to go to The Party again, and he’d miss out on some great times with his friends, but was tonight really the night to try?_ _

___“Oh, R…”  
Chetta smiled fondly and pulled Grantaire into her arms, holding him close to her chest and stroking his hair. She’d always been something of a mother hen over her three boys, and Grantaire knew it would hurt her to see him so pained.  
“You know we’re all so proud of you, right? We’re so proud of how far you’ve come, and we want to celebrate that, not destroy it.”_

__“We should have told you sooner R,” Joly chimed in, “It was meant to be a surprise, but I should have known that you’d worry about all this. I’m sorry…”_ _

__Grantaire lifted his head from Musichetta’s chest to look over at Joly._ _

__“A surprise…?”_ _

___“Yep!”  
Bossuet was grinning widely, his grin that always made him look so jolly and free from worry.  
“Courfeyrac suggested that we went with mocktails this year. All the tasty goodness of your favourite drinks, but minus the alcohol. All in celebration of your progress of course. You’re an example to all of us R. We don’t need the booze. As long as we have each other, The Party will be as amazing as ever.”_

__Grantaire couldn’t help but smile. His friends knew it would be too soon for him, and they’d changed their plans accordingly. Yet again, he found himself thinking that he had the best and most supportive friends in the world. It was such a relief to him, almost as if a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Now he could go to The Party and he wouldn’t have to worry about fighting temptation around every corner. He could just have a good time with his friends._ _

__“We should hurry before the food all gets eaten!” Chetta grinned, linking her arm through Grantaire’s and leading him towards the door, “If those gannets get into it before we get there, all the good stuff will be gone and all the crap stuff will be cold.”_ _

__Grantaire laughed, momentarily disentangling himself from Chetta so that he could lock the door behind them. He found his arms linked again almost immediately; one with Chetta and the other with Bossuet, and they all fell into step, singing terribly out of tune as they made their way down the stairs. Somewhere around the second floor, one of Grantaire’s neighbours stuck his head out of the door and yelled at them to shut up or he was calling security. That only made them laugh and race down the rest of the stairs, breathless by the time they all crammed themselves into Chetta’s Corsa._ _

__“Have I told you guys how much I love you?” R wheezed as he fought to get his breath back, “You’re the best friends a guy could ever ask for!”_ _

__“You’re not too bad yourself!” Bossuet teased, firmly clapping Grantaire’s back between his shoulder blades, “But seriously R, we love you too. Don’t ever forget that.”_ _

___Grantaire grinned.  
“I won’t.”  
And after tonight, he knew that he wouldn’t._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I got some really lovely and kind messages from people who still want to see this continued, so I really wanted to get a little happy chapter out for them. I will be going on to write the actual party in the next chapter, but Grantaire had some issues that he needed to air out before that. Also, Les Amis being supportive of R gives me life. R/friendship is my OTP yo!
> 
> I just felt like it was time to bring Les Amis in a little more. I think R finding love and acceptance in his friends is super important, even if e/R is the main focus of the story. He does have more in his life than that, even if he sometimes doesn't see it.
> 
> Sorry, I just have so many feels for R. He's my sweet summer child.
> 
> But anyway, next chapter will be the party. Anything specific you guys want to see there? Any games you'd like to see them play etc? I'm so tempted to get them to play those teenage sleepover games, but if anyone has anything specific in mind, then please let me know!
> 
> I'm trying to get back into writing, so if anyone has anything they want to see, either in this story or in something else entirely, then please feel free to throw ideas my way.
> 
> And thank you so much to everyone who has stuck around through all of this. I really am sorry that everything fell apart so much, but I hope I can make up for it now that I'm back!
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr and my writing partner is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi ^-^


	17. Chapter 17

Everyone had already gathered at Courfeyrac's apartment by the time the quartet of friends arrived. Bahorel was behind the breakfast bar, mixing brightly coloured drinks and handing them out to everyone but, as promised, there wasn't a single bottle of alcohol in sight. Grantaire couldn't help but smile. His friends truly had made an effort to make the party comfortable for him. Bahorel raised a hand in greeting as he approached the little makeshift bar and grinned at him.

"Hey R! I'm getting kinda good at mixing these! What can I get for you?"

"Ehm... Do you know how to make a Raspberry Bee's Knees...?" R asked nervously, unsure how familiar his friends would be with mocktail recipes. If R had been asked to make a mocktail a couple of months ago, he wouldn't have had any idea what to do, or what any of the names even were, but he'd become rather familiar with them since he'd made the decision to give up alcohol. But, to his delight, Bahorel simply nodded and began to mix the drink. He'd obviously done a lot of research in preparation for the party, and R would never have been able to express his gratitude at the effort. 

Drink mixed, he stepped away from the bar and into the crowded living room, where various members of Les Amis were sprawled out on sofas or across each others' laps, apparently playing a rather sober round of truth or dare. Grantaire stood in the doorway, content to just watch for a moment as Jehan made out with a stuffed monkey that Combeferre had won for Courfeyrac at the summer carnival. The other players were laughing, but Jehan looked a lot more embarrassed than they usually would have. Grantaire supposed that dares were a lot more difficult to do sober, because you knew that you, and everyone around you, would still remember it in the morning. But then a cheer went up as Jehan's timer ran out, and they flashed a triumphant grin as they threw the monkey at Courfeyrac's head.

"My turn now! Alright E, truth or dare!"

"Truth," Enjolras shrugged, lazing back in his chair, back turned to Grantaire. Grantaire decided not to make his presence known quite yet, intrigued as to what Enjolras would be asked, and what he would say.

Jehan, however, had caught sight of their friend hovering in the doorway, and Grantaire could have sworn that he saw a mischievous twinkle in their eyes as they spoke.   
"Ok then... Let's see... My question for you is... Do you prefer vanilla or kinky sex?"

Grantaire could feel his cheeks heating up, stunned into utter silence, holding his breath in anticipation. This wasn't a conversation that he and Enjolras had ever had, and he wasn't sure if they'd ever planned to. Just having Enjolras in his bed was more than enough, more than he'd ever dared to dream of, and the thought of trying to explain his urges towards the submissive just seemed like too much.

Enjolras managed to stay composed, seemingly unperturbed by the question. He took a sip of his drink and calmly stated; "I have kinks, yes."

Courfeyrac spluttered, practically spitting out the mouthful of Pineapple Cobbler he'd just drank.  
"No way! How come I never knew about this?!"

"You never asked," Enjolras shrugged, raising an eyebrow, "Besides, isn't that my business? My bed preferences are for myself and Nicolas to know."

"I somehow don't think R knew," Jehan chuckled, gesturing towards the door. Enjolras quickly turned, and his calm composure was lost as his own cheeks began to redden at the sight of his boyfriend.

"Nicolas, I..."

Grantaire couldn't help but laugh. Enjolras looked so mortified that Grantaire had overheard, but his admission hadn't bothered the other man in the slightest. In fact, he found the idea rather intriguing. So he smiled and shook his head, indicating to Enjolras that they didn't need to talk about it now. They didn't need to talk about it until Enjolras was ready. Right now, he was content to just slide himself onto his boyfriend's lap and rest his head against his chest.

"Having fun?" he asked, and a low rumble in Enjolras' chest told him that yes, he was. Strong arms enveloped him and held him tightly as the game carried on around them. Enjolras pressed a soft kiss to Grantaire's curls and then spoke to him in a low mumble; "Will you come back and stay with me tonight?"

"As if I would ever say no!" Grantaire teased, returning the affectionate gesture with his own soft kiss to Enjolras' collarbone, "But we're staying here for the turn of the new year, right? We need to bring it in with our friends, and I want to watch the fireworks from the balcony. Courf's place always has an amazing view." 

Another low rumble signalled Enjolras' agreement. Everyone always stayed for the midnight chime, and for the fireworks afterwards. They would usually continue to party in an alcohol fuelled haze for another few hours, but Grantaire wanted to spend some time alone with Enjolras. Besides, without the alcohol giving them a buzz, he didn't know how long his friends would be partying for anyway.

Truth or dare became boring after a while, and Grantaire suddenly found himself on the floor, entwined with the warm bodies of Marius and Feuilly, playing Twister. It vaguely occurred to him that he hadn't played this game since he was a college freshman, and it was lucky that his proficiency in dance kept him flexible. A call of "right hand blue!" had him trying to disentangle himself from around Marius' leg and then twist his body into a weird sideways position to reach a blue circle. Marius' next move swiped at his precariously positioned leg as the smaller man clumsily tried to turn, and the two of them collapsed to the floor in a heap, stifling their giggles. Feuilly flopped down next to them, joining the giggle chorus as he massaged his wrist, which had begun to ache from the strain of the position it had been in. R punched him gently on the shoulder in a silent congratulations, and then they were ushered off the mat to let Courfeyrac, Cosette and Bossuet have their turn.

Food was served just before midnight; a buffet of the most amazing party foods imaginable. Sandwiches, pakora, mini sausage rolls, mini pizzas, cocktail sausages, quiche, crisps and treats; there was something for everyone. Trying to reach the table to bag some food was a trial in itself, as everyone playfully shoved and fought to get to the best bits before anyone else. Grantaire, however, was not a picky eater and was happy to hold back a little. He knew that, despite the ruckus, his friends would always make sure that there was enough left for everybody. They were a good group, and they'd never let one of their own go hungry. 

He was the last to return to the living room, wedged onto the sofa between Joly and Musichetta, as they all sat in companionable silence whilst they ate their fill. But once the plates were cleared, Jehan's soft voice began to carry through the room, singing the gentle melody of Auld Lang Syne. One by one, voices joined in, hands clasping as they all sang together, the traditional song to bring in the new year. Midnight chimed and they simply sang louder, clasped tighter, singing of friendship, and feeling that same friendship palpable between them in the room. Another year had passed, and they were still here, together, and as they held each other, rushing around to embrace everyone in the room during the final chimes of the bell, they knew that that would never change.

~*~*~*~

His round of hugs completed, Grantaire stepped out onto the balcony, breathing in the cool night air, looking out over the darkness of the city. Despite the distant sounds of the revelries in the streets, it was still somewhat peaceful. He could see lights in the distance, where the street parties would now be in full swing. He'd always felt that the new year was a time of such hope, a time where everyone could think, could almost believe, that maybe next year, things would be better. He was normally one of those people, but at that moment, he couldn't think of anywhere he'd rather be in his life. This year, maybe he didn't need things to be better. He already had all he needed, and it had always been there, right in front of him. Throughout everything that he'd been through in the past year, his friends had stuck by him and supported him. That was what he'd needed all along, and it had taken him so long to recognise it. So that was what he was going to hope for in the coming year; that his friends would continue to stand by him. If they did, he knew he could overcome anything.

The soft noise of the balcony door closing caught his attention, and then arms were wrapped around his waist, holding him against a warm, firm chest. He closed his eyes and relaxed, the familiar scent of Enjolras soothing him.

"Are you alright?" Enjolras asked, his voice soft and gentle in his ear, "You disappeared after the bells. I was worried."

"I've never been better!" Grantaire smiled, and he knew that his words were strong and true, "I came out here to think, because tonight has just reaffirmed to me that I have the best friends in the world! I don't know how I never saw it before Gabriel, but I'm so lucky to have them. And I'm so lucky to have you..."

"I'm so lucky to have you too," Enjolras whispered as he spun Grantaire around, resting his finger under the smaller man's chin and tilting his face upwards before leaning down to capture his lips in a gentle kiss. Grantaire wrapped his arms around Enjolras' neck as the first bang of a firework resounded in the distance, holding him close even as they broke apart to watch the yellow sparks explode across the sky. The sparks had barely faded when the two lovers found themselves surrounded by their friends, all of them huddled together on the small balcony to watch the show. And they all knew that this year was going to be the best one yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo, an update! ^-^   
> I hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/drinks/how-to/g785/best-mocktail-recipes/?slide=18  
> This is the mocktail R had, if anyone's interested. He has a bit of a sweet tooth!
> 
> http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/drinks/how-to/g785/best-mocktail-recipes/?slide=22  
> This is Courf's.
> 
> And I don't really know the prevalence of Auld Lang Syne outside of Britain, but it's a very important New Years tradition for me, as a Scottish person, so I just really wanted to include it. In case anyone reading this doesn't know it, here's a link. The words are all in Old Scots, so if you don't understand it then it's no big deal XD  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14mFabPxk80
> 
> Ok, so, you guys are probably sick of me asking stupid questions in these notes, but here's another one! So, my main muse for writing right now is for an original story a friend and I have been working on ideas for. However, I'm very aware that this is mainly a fanfic site, so I don't know if this is the place to post it. Would any of you guys be interested? I'm just trying to decide where the best place to put it is, or if I should even start work on it at all. It's a M/M romance about a prince and a pirate.  
> My other thought was possibly turning it into a fanfic piece, if people liked the idea but didn't want to read it with the OCs.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, feel free to throw ideas at me.
> 
> I'm rthecynic on tumblr, and my partner on this piece is gayfandomnerd. Come say hi! :)


End file.
